LW2-specific Archives

Share strategy and tips here.
Post Reply
User avatar
johnnylump
Site Admin
Posts: 1261
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2015 4:12 am

LW2-specific Archives

Post by johnnylump »

Here is a copy-paste of the new entries we've put in the archives. Note that some of these are only revealed ingame after you hit a certain objective or tech level.

LONG WAR 2 CONCEPTS: RESISTANCE HAVENS
Haven Management
In Long War 2, the Commander will take over management of the worldwide Resistance movement against the ADVENT administration. In regions XCOM has made contact with, you will use the Haven Management screen to direct the priorities of Resistance cells. Individual Resistance members will be listed on this screen. Resistance members can be assigned to one of four tasks: SUPPLY, RECRUIT, INTEL or HIDING. Note that rebels assigned to new jobs will not begin work until the following day.

The Supply Job
Resistance personnel on the SUPPLY job are focused on scavenging supplies from around their regions. More rebels assigned to the Supply job will mean a larger Supply drop each month. Note that over time in a given region, the Supply job will grow less effective as the Resistance scrounges the most easily recovered materiel.

The Recruit Job
Resistance members assigned to the RECRUIT job are busy in the communities looking for volunteers willing to join the Resistance. Recruits may either join the local Haven or, if they have potential as an XCOM trooper, they will enter the pool of potential recruits for soldier training. More rebels assigned to the Recruit job will mean faster recruiting of both Resistance members and soldiers. If recruiting in a liberated region, you have a small chance to find a scientist or engineer willing to work for XCOM.

The Intel Job
Resistance members put on the INTEL job will look for information on ADVENT and alien operations. They will generate a small income of the intel resource, but their main function is to detect alien activities and alert XCOM to vulnerabilities in the enemy security network, leading to mission alerts which XCOM can send troops on. More Resistance members on the intel job will detect more missions, and they will often detect them more quickly than they otherwise would. This gives your troops more time to infiltrate those targets, which is vital to generating survivable missions. IMPORTANT: The Avenger can assist greatly in the Intel job in a single region. Scanning at the Resistance Haven site will produce intel and missions equivalent to the contributions of several unpromoted Resistance members.

Resistance members who are put in the HIDING job will produce no resources, but they will also avoid any unwanted attention from ADVENT. Busy Havens are more likely to attract ADVENT retaliatory strikes, so putting rebels on the Hiding job will lower the Haven's profile.

Haven Operating Capacity
Each Haven only has the capacity for maximum of 13 Resistance members at that Haven to be assigned to the SUPPLY, RECRUIT, or INTEL jobs; the rest will be treated as reserves and put in the HIDING job.

ADVENT Reprisals
In retaliations and similar missions, Resistance members will appear during tactical combat. Depending on the operation, they may sometimes be armed, although they will be less effective than XCOM soldiers in combat. XCOM soldiers are also sometimes required to activate a Resistance member by moving close to them, giving the player control of their actions, so they can move to escape areas as necessary. In addition, XCOM can recover certain ADVENT assets and repurpose them for Haven defense, granting additional units to assist in combat.

Resistance Promotions
Over time, Resistance members can become better at their jobs. Resistance members who have gained a level will be marked with an asterisk on the Haven Management Screen. Expert members who have gained a second level will be marked with an additional asterisk. These promoted rebels will produce more results on any job they are assigned to, and they will also receive XCOM perks for use in combat.

XCOM Advisers
XCOM may assign a single adviser from its staff to each Haven to assist in various tasks. The adviser may be assigned by clicking the photo frame in the top-left of the Haven Management screen. Assigning an engineer will generate bonuses for the Supply job in the region. Assigning a scientist will generate bonuses to the Intel job. Assigning a soldier will generate bonuses to the Recruit job; the soldier will also appear on combat missions involving Haven personnel. The soldier will also hunt for any ADVENT infiltrators in the Haven. Higher-ranking soldiers will generate more bonuses. The soldier should be outfitted with gear on the Avenger BEFORE departing for the Haven. If a Resistance Haven is entirely wiped out by enemy action, the only way to recruit new rebels is to station a soldier in the region. Advisers may be unassigned from the Haven by clicking on their portrait, as long as ADVENT doesn't have any active reprisals against the Resistance underway in the region."

LONG WAR 2 CONCEPTS: INFILTRATION

Infiltration Summary
Many of XCOM's offensive operations require infiltration of the target site over a period of several days. Infiltrating a mission site represents XCOM forces concealing themselves from ADVENT patrols and gathering intelligence on enemy activities. This careful preparation allows XCOM to strike when the time is right. During infiltrations, the XCOM forces will not be available for other missions, unless you abort the infiltration and return the troops to base, canceling any progress you have made. XCOM may have multiple infiltrations underway at once. Properly infiltrating these sites is crucial to conducting missions that XCOM can win.

Infiltration Missions
These missions use an INFILTRATION START button at the top center of the Squad Select screen. After selecting your squad and beginning an infiltration, the mission pin on the Geoscape will show a percent-infiltrated value ranging from 0 to 200%. The more the squad infiltrates a site, the fewer enemy units it will face on the mission. This is the critical role infiltration plays in Long War 2.

Infiltration Progress
While it is possible to launch an attack on many of these sites immediately, the squad could face two to three times as many enemies without properly preparing for the mission. The amount of extra forces is indicated by the Enemy Readiness description in the Infiltration Options panel, which can be Impregnable, Fortified, Alerted, Guarded, Normal and Vulnerable. There are invisible gradations within these categories, so every additional hour spent infiltrating makes it more likely XCOM will face a lesser enemy force. More time spent infiltrating also reduces the time the Skyranger takes to arrive when the squad throws an evac flare. Note that some critical missions require at least 100% infiltration before the mission may be launched.

Enemy Activity
The impact on enemy forces is also noted in the Current and Baseline enemy activity readouts in Squad Select and the infiltration panels. These descriptions, such as \"light,\" \"heavy,\" or \"swarming\" indicate how many enemies you are likely to face, not counting any reinforcements the aliens are able to summon. The baseline enemy activity description, reported when the mission is first detected and in the Squad Selection screen, represents the expected enemy force level if you infiltrate to 100%. The current enemy activity level is what it would be if you launched the mission at that moment. You can gain further bonuses by infiltrating to 200%, although no mission will drop below \"Extremely Light\" activity, and the benefits accumulate much more slowly after exceeding 100%.

Boosting Infiltrations
Once per infiltration, the Commander may also assist an infiltration by electing to spend some of XCOM's Intel resource. Using the \"Boost Infiltration\" button in the Infiltration Options panel will give you the option of spending 25 intel to significantly increase the rate of infiltration. You can use this option at any time during the infiltration, as its benefits apply retroactively.

Managing Infiltration Time
The Commander has some control over the amount of time it takes to infiltrate a mission site by using smaller or larger squads and by selecting certain soldier perks and gear. This is represented by information presented in the Squad Select screen. The \"Base Infiltration\" value is how many days a typical XCOM squad of five soldiers will take to infiltrate the site to 100%. The Squad Size modifier value is the impact of the currently selected squad size. The stealth modifier is the impact of abilities and gear. Certain perks, particularly Infiltrator and Tradecraft, lower infiltration time. Units carrying submachine guns and certain other specialized stealth gear can further lower it. Meanwhile, heavy weapons specialists - Gunners, Grenadiers and Technicals - will increase the squad's infiltration time.

Mission Expiration
Many missions also expire; the time left until expiration is noted in the Mission Expiration value in the Squad Select screen. The earlier the local Resistance Haven's intel section detects an enemy operation, the more time XCOM will have until the mission expires. This will often prevent squads from reaching 100% infiltration. When a mission is expiring on the Geoscape, an alert will give the Commander the choice of going in at the current infiltration level or aborting.

Resistance Management
The Resistance management panel allows XCOM to direct the activities of Resistance cells around the world. New Resistance Havens will appear here as contact is established, along with a summary of their current strength and activities. Selecting a region will take you the appropriate Haven management panel (see below).

Squad Management
The squad manager lets you organize squads of troops who can be assigned as a group to a particular mission. Squads operate under the following guidelines:
* Up to 12 soldiers may be assigned to a squad, and squads may be chosen in the squad select interface immediately before a mission.
* If a squad member is wounded, in training or just not a good fit for a mission, you can substitute in a temporary squad member from the pool of unassigned soldiers on a mission-by-mission basis.
* You may also build a squad entirely from unassigned members just before a mission; they will be given a name (for reference on the Geoscape), and that squad will be disbanded as soon as the mission is over.
* To transfer soldiers from one permanent squad to another, they must first be unassigned from their current squad.

Soldier Experience
Soldiers gain experience and levels primarily by going on missions, with a smaller portion coming directly from the soldier individually killing enemies. Mission XP is based on how many enemies are present on the map at the beginning of a tactical mission, and it is divided equally among the troops after the mission if it is successful, regardless of how many enemies were killed. Note this means that sending fewer soldiers on a mission will result in them receiving a greater share of the mission XP. If XCOM fails to achieve its objectives during the mission, a smaller amount of shared mission XP is rewarded based on how many enemies were killed, with the maximum capped at 50% of what a successful mission would have provided."

Liberating Regions
The Resistance, with sufficient help from XCOM, may now liberate regions entirely from ADVENT control. They must detect and undertake a series of increasingly difficult missions to do this, culminating with strikes on ADVENT's power centers in the region. The aliens will undertake almost no activities in liberated regions unless they attempt to retake it. The Resistance will generate bonus supplies, recruits and intel for XCOM in liberated regions. Any active infiltrations in a region that is liberated will receive a significant bonus to infiltration percentage, and then the Commander will have to decide whether to go on that mission immediately or abort before ADVENT retreats its forces to neighboring regions.

Alien and ADVENT Forces
As powerful as they are, the aliens do have limits on their capabilities. They have spread their forces around the globe in an attempt to engage the Resistance, and some places they are stronger than others. Our intelligence teams provide estimates of enemy strengths in each contacted region; that strength will change over time as ADVENT moves troops to areas of high XCOM and Resistance activity, leaving other areas potentially vulnerable. Missions in regions which have heavy ADVENT presence will be far more difficult in areas they are not giving much attention to.

Enemy Corpses
Because of many of our missions require rapid exfiltration from a battle site, we are often unable to collect the remains of our ADVENT and alien enemies for research or rendering into useful alien materials. Offensive missions that offer the possibility to gather enemy corpses should be made a priority.

Officer Training
The Guerrilla Tactics school contains up to two slots for you to pick soldiers from the armory and train them as officers. Officers may gain a number of special abilities to assist on missions, but only one officer may go on a mission at a time. You may begin selecting officers from your soldiers who have reached corporal rank. Officers have a Command Range that increases with their officer rank; it determines the distance at which many of their abilities are effective.

Sharpshooter Class
Relying primarily on high-powered rifles to eliminate hostile targets from long distances, Sharpshooters may specialize as a sniper capable of long-range ambushes, or as a mobile marksman who can target enemies from just behind our front lines. Sharpshooters are also equipped with the Holo-Targeter, a device used to designate targets for the rest of XCOM.

Shinobi Class
Shinobi are trained in advanced infiltration techniques allowing for concealment beyond what the average XCOM soldier can manage. Shinobi carry swords for the occasional close combat melee encounter.

Gunner Class
Gunners carry the cannon, useful for laying down barrages of sustained suppressive or direct fire. Because of the weight of this weapon, they can only carry a combat knife for personal defense."

Technical Class
Our Technicals wear a specialized wrist weapon that has both a minirocket launcher and a flamethrower. They may specialize in either.

Ranger Class
The Ranger serves as our primary front-line soldier, specializing in the standard assault rifle. They develop either as an offensive infantryman or a defender who specializes in overwatch abilities. They carry a sawed-off shotgun for close-in work.

Assault Class
Our assaults trace some ancestry to pre-war police Special Weapons and Tactics personnel, along with soldiers who specialized in urban counterinsurgencies shorly before the alien invasion. They typically carry a shotgun as their primary weapon and can specialize in combat or survival abilities. For long-distance work, they carry the arc thrower, an improved version of the XCOM weapon devised during the invasion's early days that is capable of stunning targets.

Specialist Class
Using salvaged alien technology, Shen has managed incredible advances in robotics, allowing XCOM's Specialists to field the highly advanced drones known affectionately as GREMLINs. Although they are capable of being outfitted for direct combat or medical support, the GREMLINs are only as strong as their handlers, making a skilled Specialist invaluable to XCOM.

Grenadier Class
Serving as a heavy weapons specialist, the Grenadier can create havoc on the battlefield through the use of high explosive grenades and flashbangs or support other soldiers with defensive smoke grenades and other protective devices.

Stopping The Avatar Project
While we have limited understanding of the nature of the aliens' work, we do know that every successful battle we fight against them forces them to divert resources away from Avatar and toward pacifying Earth. That gives us more time to learn about the nature of the project and find ways to stop it.

These are some rewritten vanilla entries describing some changed mechanics.

Radio Relays
Constructing Radio Relays will extend the range from which we can contact new, previously unexplored regions. Building relays at the edges of our current reach will provide the greatest benefit in terms of added range. Radio Relays make rebels more effective at their jobs, and the Intel cost of contacting neighboring regions will be reduced.

Black Market
The Black Market provides access to a basic storefront operated by a network of smugglers operating outside of the ADVENT administration. XCOM can buy additional materials using supplies. Unwanted items can also be sold."

The Avenger
Serving as XCOM's mobile headquarters, the Avenger was once a basic transport vessel utilized by the aliens during the invasion. Shot down and disabled by forces unknown, the ship was apparently abandoned by the aliens, only to be discovered by Dr. Raymond Shen who first proposed an attempt at reclaiming the vessel for XCOM. Although many facets of the alien technology remain a mystery, the ship itself is now reliably under XCOM's control and has proven to be crucial to the resurgent Resistance movement. One of the most important roles of the Avenger is to assist in scanning for missions in a given region. Scanning at a Haven provides a significant bonus to Intel gathered there.

Concealment
With limited tactical resources, XCOM has to rely on stealth to gain the upper hand on our enemies. Many operations begin with the XCOM squad in concealment. By avoiding the enemy's detection radius, XCOM can remain concealed until they reach the mission objective. Various factors can impact enemy detection radii, including what gear XCOM is carrying and abilities they have trained.

EVAC
XCOM can request an emergency evacuation from the battlefield at the Commander's discretion. Once the Skyranger has been contacted, the soldier making the call will need to select a rendezvous point for the evacuation to occur. Doing so will reveal the squad if it is concealed. Once placed, the squad will need to move into the designated EVAC volume and request a rope out. Note that the Skyranger may take some time to arrive: if XCOM has many infiltrations active around the globe, has poorly infiltrated this particular mission, or has a large squad, expect to have to defend the evac zone until the Skyranger can arrive."

Advanced Warfare Center
The Advanced Warfare Center allows soldiers to gain abilities outside their given class and respec selected talents. When a scientist is staffed within the facility, the AWC also improves the rate at which XCOM's soldiers will recover from injuries. Soldiers elgible for extra training can select abilities in one of three categories: offensive, defensive and pistol. For offensive and defensive abilities, soldiers may train up to three abilities in each category. The abilities are randomly generated for each soldier, but the abilities unlocked after finishing a training segment will generally be stronger than the previous ones. For pistol abilities, soldiers may train all seven, given enough time."

Guerrilla Tactics School
Through the Guerrilla Tactics School additional combat tactics, unit abilities, and officer training programs are available for purchase. Rookie soldiers can also be trained into a specific class of your choosing here.

ADVENT Network Towers
ADVENT Network Towers are important nodes of the alien Psionic network and their worldwide communications system. Although the towers themselves are a readily identifiable fixture to those people living in the city centers, its overall function and the extent of its capabilities are still generally unknown. It is widely believed that the ADVENT Peacekeeping forces in a given region are coordinated from somewhere within the regional tower. We also believe that a master tower somewhere serves as the hub for distributing information and commands to all of the regional towers.
jztemple
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2017 3:13 am

Re: LW2-specific Archives

Post by jztemple »

Thanks for posting this. I've been copying and pasting items like these and putting them into documents for the convenience of the folks on the forum where I hang out. It really is imperative that folks read through these archive updates before they get themselves too frustrated. And that they start on Rookie, no shame in that 8-)
Post Reply