Long War 2 feature announce: New mission types

[johnnylump]

https://xcom.com/news/xcom-2-long-war-2 ... ions-on-pc

[ZutCorp]

To be honest, this sounds more like a full expansion pack, than a mod. Can Not Wait! Camping the twitch channel right now

[De Roberto]

Can you say wich one of the new mission types are multi-part missions?

[rifleman]

That screenshot of base assault map look small. Does this map big enough for support a battle between10 XCOM vs 100+ aliens?

[delcrossb]

Will the new mission types broaden the overall feel of the game such that we aren't always sort of...racing the clock to hit an objective and then either sweeping or evacing? Despite having different objectives, I never really felt that "hack the terminal" was ever really that strategically different from "protect the device" or "destroy the relay" missions.

How many of the new missions are timer reliant? Are there any other mission critical objectives like saving civilians or something similar that creates a different strategy element?

[Krylos]

Right, has map size been altered in any way?

Are there themed missions? Something like a base assault that only has robots as enemies or an invasion only by chryssalids?

[johnnylump]

Can you say wich one of the new mission types are multi-part missions?

Not quite how we arranged them. An example of a multi-mission quest line is any mission set against a UFO. You'll need to run a hack or retrieve mission to learn the location of the UFO. If you succeed, then the UFO mission will be visible for you to try. The first mission will have to be detected by your intel section, and both missions will require infiltration against a deadline.

Another are full retals. You have a chance to prevent them entirely by detecting and defeating a destroy-object type mission.

[johnnylump]

That screenshot of base assault map look small. Does this map big enough for support a battle between10 XCOM vs 100+ aliens?

The base assault maps are all using Forge-sized map bounadries, which are the largest in the game except for the Fortress.

[gimrah]

Thanks for answering so many questions on the other thread. I have a few more on these:

1) I see it says how long it takes to be fully infiltrated. But does it say somewhere how long before the mission expires? Is there a penalty for waiting until the last second (risking click rage)?

2) Do you know what the mission type is before you infiltrate?

3) If you skip a mission of this type, do you stay infiltrated and get a chance to generate another mission when you are more infiltrated?

4) It says we have 'new ' mission types. How is Jailbreak different from the vanilla council mission?

5) How is Advent Base Assault different from a vanilla facility raid?

6) How is Rendezvous different from a vanilla dark VIP mission?

7) Is Rendezvous the reference you made to members of the resistance being faceless? Is that restricted to rebels (please tell it me it can't be a soldier)?

8) The previous post on the strategy layer had a screenshot showing an infiltration mission with objectives "Ambush enemy troop column; Reduce enemy strength". Is that one of the new types listed (doesn't look like it)? Or a different new mission not listed for some reason? Or a vanilla supply raid with new description?

[johnnylump]

Thanks for answering so many questions on the other thread. I have a few more on these:

1) I see it says how long it takes to be fully infiltrated. But does it say somewhere how long before the mission expires? Is there a penalty for waiting until the last second (risking click rage)?

2) Do you know what the mission type is before you infiltrate?

3) If you skip a mission of this type, do you stay infiltrated and get a chance to generate another mission when you are more infiltrated?

4) It says we have 'new ' mission types. How is Jailbreak different from the vanilla council mission?

5) How is Advent Base Assault different from a vanilla facility raid?

6) How is Rendezvous different from a vanilla dark VIP mission?

7) Is Rendezvous the reference you made to members of the resistance being faceless? Is that restricted to rebels (please tell it me it can't be a soldier)?

8) The previous post on the strategy layer had a screenshot showing an infiltration mission with objectives "Ambush enemy troop column; Reduce enemy strength". Is that one of the new types listed (doesn't look like it)? Or a different new mission not listed for some reason? Or a vanilla supply raid with new description?

...

1) Yes, you'll know how long until it expires. The only thing it won't tell you is what the enemy activity level will be at any given point, except at 100% and currently. There is no penalty until waiting until the last second (except you are tying up your squad longer for possibly minimal gains).

EDIT: Occurs to me another penalty might be the aliens could reinforce the region while you are infiltrating. This is unusual but possible (and sometimes can be detected). That'll make the mission harder.

2) Yes

3) No. Missions are detected independently of what you do with your squads (except on mission chains, in which finishing or not-finishing one mission triggers another)

4) You gotta rescue a bunch of guys on a jailbreak instead of just one.

5) Longer and on different plots.

6) Way different. You get your adviser and some armed rebels and that's it.

7) We'll let you discover these rules.

8) It's a new one but not one of the ones in the promo. That's a straightforward sweep. Important but not-flashy-enough-for-promotional-purposes.

[Frozen Shepard]

Will there be propaganda missions in this? I noticed that in vanilla XCOM 2 there really weren't any of those which didn't really make sense to me. You'd think swaying public opinion would be something rebels would do.

[gimrah]

Thanks again for the answers. Sounds great. Rendezvous in particular sounds nuts.

[xmd1997]

Can you say wich one of the new mission types are multi-part missions?

Not quite how we arranged them. An example of a multi-mission quest line is any mission set against a UFO. You'll need to run a hack or retrieve mission to learn the location of the UFO. If you succeed, then the UFO mission will be visible for you to try. The first mission will have to be detected by your intel section, and both missions will require infiltration against a deadline.

Another are full retals. You have a chance to prevent them entirely by detecting and defeating a destroy-object type mission.

Hello, huge fan of the game, created this account to specifically ask this question(i'll probably ask alot more though lol).
*When you say "UFO missions will be visible for you to try" does this mean that we can actually (somehow) disable the UFO the moment its visible so that we can assault it? Or just like vanilla where the rebels disable it and ask us to swoop in for the kill?.

[dethraker]

6) Way different. You get your adviser and some armed rebels and that's it.

"Armed Rebels"

Are these going to be player controlled or have you created an additional AI that controls the rebels?

[rakoon79]

What happens to the squad that was infiltrating a mission when the mission expires?

[johnnylump]

6) Way different. You get your adviser and some armed rebels and that's it.

"Armed Rebels"

Are these going to be player controlled or have you created an additional AI that controls the rebels?

Player controlled.

[johnnylump]

What happens to the squad that was infiltrating a mission when the mission expires?

The game forces you to choose between launching the mission right then or aborting.

[Amineri]

*When you say "UFO missions will be visible for you to try" does this mean that we can actually (somehow) disable the UFO the moment its visible so that we can assault it? Or just like vanilla where the rebels disable it and ask us to swoop in for the kill?.

It might help a bit to think "this is a guerrilla resistance". We don't have the capability to shoot down UFOs anymore. Instead, UFOs are going to be landing somewhere bringing in reinforcements from offworld.

The question is "where and when is this going to happen?" if you want to ambush the UFO while it is on the ground. This information is kept quite secret, so your Rebels doing intel work won't be able to find out about it directly, but can possibly come up with a lead as to where the information can be found. So then you send in a squad to retrieve that information (hack mission). If you success at that mission, that reveals the landed UFO mission, which can be infiltrated in turn.

[MessyConfessor]

First off, this looks fantastic.

Secondly, while we're on the subject of new mission types, I wanted to drop in a thought about one of the most disappointing apparently-cut mechanics from the base game: loot containers.

Often on VIP rescue missions, you'll come across loot containers (I think they're called "Advent Chests" in the pop-up) that can be opened by standing adjacent to them. However, they are always empty. It seems Firaxis originally planned to have findable loot hidden around maps, but scrapped that plan in favor of having enemies drop timed loot instead.

What I would suggest/request is that a new mission type be added: "Vault Heist". Essentially, you have to raid an Advent facility with a vault hidden somewhere towards the center of the map. The vault door must be hacked before it can be entered (but maybe it's an auto-succeed hack, like the main objective ones in the base game). Inside are several of the loot containers, containing randomized supplies, weapon mods, and other such rewards.

As soon as the vault door is hacked, a reinforcement flare drops nearby. Reinforcements continue until the squad evacs -- which obviously requires getting out of the building first.

I feel like, especially with the delayed-evac mechanic introduced in LW2, this kind of mission could be great and incredibly thematic for a guerrilla resistance.

[pescadorparrudo]

Does the UFO missions are the same as vanilla Xcom2?

Or we do have new ufo/map layouts?

[Krylos]

@MessyConfessor:
The loot containers in vanilla are not empty. That's just a visual glitch. The loot shows up at the end of the mission.

[MessyConfessor]

@MessyConfessor:
The loot containers in vanilla are not empty. That's just a visual glitch. The loot shows up at the end of the mission.

Huh. TIL.

...the rest of my suggestion/request still stands, lol.

[Tyranniac]

Oh wow... this really is going to be a whole new experience. So much new info!

The ADVENT Base Assault and Invasion mission types makes it sound like the guerrilla conflict is being replaced by all out war when a region is liberated. How is XCOM/the Resistance able to match ADVENT in full-on sustained combat to the degree that they're able to free entire cities? Are there any additional story elements to justify this?

[ShockmasterFred]

Oh wow... this really is going to be a whole new experience. So much new info!

The ADVENT Base Assault and Invasion mission types makes it sound like the guerrilla conflict is being replaced by all out war when a region is liberated. How is XCOM/the Resistance able to match ADVENT in full-on sustained combat to the degree that they're able to free entire cities? Are there any additional story elements to justify this?

Well, considering that there are several billion humans, I imagine that in any region they have a massive manpower advantage. Story elements aside though, is this really an issue? Would you rather have a more complex, and challenging strategy layer or have the PI team nitpick every change to death because of plausibility? I mean barking about "realism" in a game about aliens taking over Earth is crossing from pedantic to silly.

[Pawnman]

Well, considering that there are several billion humans, I imagine that in any region they have a massive manpower advantage. Story elements aside though, is this really an issue? Would you rather have a more complex, and challenging strategy layer or have the PI team nitpick every change to death because of plausibility? I mean barking about "realism" in a game about aliens taking over Earth is crossing from pedantic to silly.

Well, just because Xcom 2 has some SciFi elements doesn't mean that some mechanics / story bits of the game can't have a sense of "realism." For Example; If the Xcom universe wants to present a world that is supposedly under Advents control and then suddenly has a group of Rebels shooting down UFO's left & right with little to no resistance, that'd be kinda contradictory & silly. If elements of a game are seemingly breaking the rules or setting that the game presents then that's considered Immersion breaking. The mechanics & story still should behave in a realistic fashion, even though the setting itself is ludicrous when compared to reality...

With that said though I'm liking what I'm seeing so far, I mean being able to dismantle UFO can simply be explained by saying that even though Advent is in control of "most" of the world, "most =/= all" and it's certainly feasible in my mind that there are pockets of the world that Advent just simply doesn't have the means to control. And Xcom is here to broaden/strengthen those Pockets into a force to be reckoned with.