So I was browsing the guides section of XCOM 2, but didn't see many guides about gameplay basics/tips. I get that; this is a relatively new game, so people have been busy playing it not taking their time away from this awesome game to write guides. I, therefore, have decided to make my own; to contribute to the community and compile lots of useful information.

Things to know before reading this guide:

[1] This guide is based on my personal experiences from XCOM EU/EW (and other strategy games) and a partial playthrough of XCOM 2's campaign (At this guide's inception, I am pretty far into the story, but haven't completed it yet).

[2] For my first playthrough, I am/was on Veteran (normal) difficulty, because I wanted a feel for the game before I dove into the challenge of Commander (hard). As a result:
[3] I will try to be sensative to spoilers in regards to the main storyline and such (using spoiler black tags where I feel necessary), but let the reader be warned:
[4] I will not necessarily include every single number, cost, percentage, stat, etc, because that takes a lot of work.

[4b] Related to that point, there will be times in my guide that I will ask the community to help me gather/verify information that I am unsure of/don't know (or, God forbid, correct my mistakes) and update this guide accordingly.

[5] Anyway, feel free to comment; it's always nice to hear if my efforts are appreciated or if there's any constructive criticism (as this is my first guide on Steam).

While I very much enjoyed the base-building aspect in EU/EW, for the OCD/Min-Max player, it was kind of a headache. Having all those rows and synergy bonuses and whether the geothermal vent was in the "right spot" or not made all the difference in the world. In XCOM 2, however, HAVE NO FEAR! the new, improved, and condensed base is here! And this time? It's simpler/more forgiving.
As you can see in this picture, the new Avenger's mobile base is now 3x4, for a total of 12 rooms to work with for your facilities.


In a similar way to EU/EW, you have to clear junk out of the way so you can actually build facilities. But there's good news this time! As opposed to EU/EW where you had to pay to bulldoze out dirt in your underground base, you now get to gather supplies/alloys from your excavations!

Now, how do you do this? Engineers, baby, they're your new best friends. Get them early and often. Just select the spot you want to clear out, assign an engineer to it, and voila, your new room will be ready in X days (based on difficulty level). Note that you can only clear out rooms adjacent to already-cleared-out-rooms, so, plan accordingly.


[1] Alien Debris--quickest to clear out, rewards a small(er) amount of supplies.

[2] Alien Machinery--medium difficulty to clear out, but the greater the effort, the greater the reward. These yield supplies and alloys when cleared out.

[3] Exposed Power Coils--Hardest to clear out, but these spots are special. Yes, they give you stuff when you "Shield" them, but any facility constructed on these special spots costs no power to operate! Yes, that's good, but if you build a power relay on one of these, the relay generates an additional 10 power! So, in many ways, these are the geothermal vents of EU/EW, but improved in the fact you can choose to put a power relay (which is optimal) or another facility, and still get some benefit.


1st row--Debris

2nd row--Debris, maybe 1 Machinery

3rd & 4th rows--RNG combination of Debris/Machiney/Power Coil

In the typical playthrough, you're going to see an average of only two power coils, which will only appear in rows 3 & 4.


It takes a minimum of one engineer to clear out a room, but depending on the type of debris in a room, you can assign up to three engineers to hasten the process. Debris-1 engineer, Machinery-2, Power Coil-3. Each engineer you assign makes things go faster, yes, but with diminishing returns, as the 2nd engineer increases the speed by 50%, and the 3rd one by 30%. That being said, if you have the available engineers, their teamwork really pays off.

Engineers can also halve construction times when you're building facilities. Do note that you can only have one engineer assigned to a given construction project, so halving the time is the best you can do, not faster.

[1] Power Relay--Supplies power to the Avenger, essential to have to operate your other facilities. Can house 1 engineer to increase power yield by 5. Two available upgrades- 2nd engineer slot (for more power) and elerium generator for more autonomous power (as in, no engineer required for this other upgrade). Generic facility, can make as many as you need.



[2] Resistance Comms--Increases your limit on worldwide resistance cells that you can connect with (in many ways, similar to the satellite uplinks of EU/EW). Can house 1 engineer to further increase contact limits. Upgrade available to house a 2nd engineer. Generic building, can make as many as you need.



[3] Guerilla Tactics School--Allows you to purchase various squad upgrades (kind of like EU/EW's Officer Training School). It's other function is that you can assign a rookie soldier (one at a time) to train for X days (based on difficulty, 5 on Veteran for example) to become a squaddie of the class of your choice! During this training period, the soldier is unavaialble for missions. Once this thing is up and running for a little while, say goodbye to sending rookies on missions, praying they survive, get a kill, and get the class you wanted/needed. This facility helps to create the perfect roster.



[4] Advanced Warfare Center--Grants random abilities to soldiers on promotion from other classes/a special pool of "Advanced Warfare Center only" abilities. This allows you to get some really special troops. Example: A ranger with the ability to get an automatic overwatch after spending both movement points? (from the Specialist ability tree) Sounds like a great scout. Of course, this is completely RNG, and in my experience, I'd have to estimate a 20% chance to get a special ability on promotion from this center; so, don't be disappointed when it doesn't happen all the time. When I first played I thought that was the case, however, the way it works is that each soldier gets only one special ability through this building. Said ability will reveal itself at the proper promotion level; so be patient, it'l happen eventually for everyone. (I've found out that the special promotion CAN be applied to your soldiers retroactively if you constructed the AWC later on, but it might be a little buggy where you have to send that soldier on a mission before the AWC promotion kicks in. Thanks to Mithras Varn for this info.)

The Advanced Warfare Center also has an engineer slot which, doubles the recovery speed of your wounded soldiers! This is huge, as we all hate waiting forever for our favorite soldier to come back to active duty.

Lastly, the AWC has one spot to retrain a soldier's class abilities. This takes X days (based on difficulty, 5 days on Veteran for example). During this re-training period, the soldier is unavailable for missions. This function can be a Godsend at times; especially if you happen to change your mind about a soldier's build later on, or if you have an "early-game build" and a "late-game build" for some of your guys. Also note that soldiers WILL keep special abilities granted by the AWC if you retrain them, so don't fret about that (Big thanks to Grouch for verifying that information).



[5] Proving Ground-Allows you to build/develop a lot of your equipment, such as special armors, grenades, ammunition, devices/gadgets etc. Of course, these things take time and resources. As for time, it depends on the project and the game's difficulty (can be halved with a stationed engineer). As for the resources, it can be all sorts of things: supplies, alloys/elerium, and corpses. The most important resource for this facility, however, is something new called Elerium Cores, as almost every project requires one.



[6] Workshop-Has no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ except to support surrounding buildings by staffing them with Gremlin drones. Starts with one engineer slot (can be upgraded to two slots), which, when manned, grants two Gremlin drones (two drones per engineer slot, so a potential total of 4). These drones act exactly the same as engineers with one major exception: they can only be assigned to rooms directly adjacent to the workshop in a cross + fashion. (to be clear, they cannot staff facilities in the diagonal X directions) So, this is a very useful facility; allowing you to increase your overall engineers available.



[7] Laboratory-Pretty straightforward building here, assign a scientist (can be upgraded to hold two) and get extra research speed.



[8] Psi Lab-Allows you to train rookies into the Psi-Operative class. This facility has one spot for a soldier when you build it, and can be upgraded to hold two. It also has one engineer slot, which halves the training time for your psi operatives. I would like to reiterate that only rookies can be trained to become psi-ops, so, if you want one (or two) of these guys, make sure to either have a spare rookie on your roster or else you'll have to spend supplies to recruit another. During their initial training period of X days (depending on game difficulty level) the soldier is unavailable for missions. When they are merely improving their psi abilities, however, they can be brought along on missions without any penalities/interruption of their training, so, feel free to do so.



[9] Defense Matrix-Allows you to utilize the wreckage of turrets (which you recover on missions just like corpses) to help defend The Avenger on missions where you're hunted by a UFO and forced to land and fend off aliens. Has one engineer spot, which increases the effectiveness of these turrets. Can be upgraded to have 4 turrets instead of 2.



[10] Shadow Chamber-Plot relevant building where you research special "Shadow Projects" which help you progress through the storyline. While researching these shadow projects, it halts your regular research, so, be aware of that. Do note that these shadow projects don't give you things (like a better gun or something), but are solely used for progressing to the next step of the storyline so you can win the game.



The Shadow Chamber's other function is that it will reveal the enemy types on missions, allowing you to prepare your squad to counter whatever you're up against. Do note it will say "Enemy Unknown" if there is a type of alien you haven't encountered before. Also notice the number (11 in my screenshot) which indicates the total amount of aliens you have to fight on that mission (not including any potential reinforcements, of course). No, it doesn't indicate how many of each alien type, just the total number.



[42] Aircraft Hanger-Where you house jets to shoot down UFO's in that incredibly stupid mini-game from EU/EW. Oh wait, that isn't in this game, THANK GOD! XP

When it comes to upgrading Stark Tower, The Avenger's Tower, I mean, your mobile ship, The Avenger, you have options. In my opinion, many of the choices you're faced with are thankfully a question of "What would I rather have first?". Let's be honest though: there are also bad choices which can severely hinder your campaign. The main reason being that your resources will always be limited (welcome to XCOM) so if you spend them on things which really don't help that much, you're metaphorically shooting yourself in the foot, and will consequently take longer to complete the campaign.


Your first building should be either the Guerilla Tactics School or the Advanced Warfare Center. Let's weigh the options:


[1] The sooner you construct it, the sooner your soldiers can get those random extra promotions, thereby strengthening them in the early/mid game.

[2] Having the slot to put the engineer to double the speed of recovery time of soldiers in the first part of the game IS AMAZING. How annoying is it to get hit by ONE shot from a basic Advent Trooper, and your ranger is out for 10 days just like that? Well, the AWC really helps you keep your growing squad in the action so they can level up and become a force to be reckoned with.

[3] You can place the AWC in the 1st row center spot with no base optomization issues (unlike the GTS).


[1] On the flipside of pro #1, since the chance for the extra special promotion ability is low, are you really going to miss having that for a little bit? Probably not.

[2] Are you really going to take advantage of the facility's retraining aspect in the first part of the game? Again, probably not (or, at least, you shouldn't).

[3] It takes an engineer to get the faster wound recovery bonus. I mean, that engineer could be doing other useful things, like clearing out more rooms.

[4] Missing out on training soldiers at the GTS sooner.


[1] The sooner you can start training your rookies into squaddies of your choice, the sooner you can field all your early missions without needing to put rookies in the line of fire. Seriously guys, this building is free experience without the drawback of "OMG I HOPE MY ROOKIE DOESN'T GET REKT". (Faint Thinmen laughter in the background) Additionally, this allows you to fill your ranks with the classes that you want, so if your 1st ranger happens to be wounded, no worries, you have that 2nd/3rd ranger on the bench to take his place.

(Personal story here: my 1st ranger kept on getting wounded in the first few missions, so I had to launch missions without one at times since I wasn't getting any rangers randomly from rookies getting promoted. This building helps remove the RNG aspect of early-game class promotions.)

[2] It doesn't have a slot for an engineer, meaning you can get its full functionality without having the take an engineer away from construction/clearing out rooms (which will be a priority in the early parts of the game).


[1] Missing out on the awesome benefits of the AWC, especially its faster recovery time for wounded soldiers.

[2] Since the GTS doesn't have an engineer slot, you'll need to place it in either the top-left or top-right rooms for this facility to have the optimal spot (since I recommend building the Workshop facility in the middle of the 2nd row...discussed in more detail later).


I'd take the Advanced Warfare Center first (then the GTS 2nd) as I'd rather have the special promotions kick in ASAP, as well as getting quicker wound recovery times so I don't have to field as many rookies in the first handfull of missions due to your main guys being out of commission. That being said, getting the Guerilla Tactics School first has its advantages too, so really, you can't go wrong either way.

By this time you'll likely need more power. Therefore, building #3 should be a Power Relay. As for where to place this first Power Relay, thankfully the answer is anywhere you want, with ONE important exception: DO NOT PLACE ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE WORKSHOP IN THE CENTER SECOND ROW! as that is the optimal place for it.


The Workshop should be building #4. Since the workshop supplies Gremlin drones which can only work adjacent facilities in a cross + fashion, it is vital that you put it in the spot where it gets the most mileage; i.e. the center of the 2nd row. Unlike the other buildings where you'll purchase their upgrades later on, improving the Workshop so it has the 2nd engineer slot is a priority.

Some of you may be asking, "Conan, why is this Workshop thing sooo dang important to get up that quickly?" The answer is: more engineers (or Gremlin drones in this case) equals more constructions, more clearing out of rooms, more facilities getting their engineer bonuses, and more supplies/alloys (from room-clearing) to build more things. Essentially, this investment pays for itself and then some in both time and money.

Protip: Station an engineer here for goodness sake, and get those projects done in half the time.

Depending on your school of thought, some people are likely asking me, "Conan, why the heck are you just now constructing your Proving grounds as your fifth facility?! Don't you want all those cool grenades, armor, and gadgets, which not only help in your missions, but also that Skulljack which is necessary to progress in the plotline?" While those are valid points, I think that getting the other four facilities mentioned above sooner as opposed to later is going to be more valuable in the long run. "But think of all that time I could've been running projects at the Proving Ground?" Yes, that's true, however, you have a limited number of Elerium Cores, so getting the Proving Ground earlier means an increased likelihood of running dry on cores (which I've had happen before, since getting more cores is based on RNG factors of drops and rewards).

Besides, many projects in the Proving Grounds are only available once you've researched certain technologies, so, giving your tech a small head start is ok. Lastly, IMHO (especially on Veteran, but harder difficulties may be different) you can beat the first handfull of missions just fine without advanced grenades/munitions/armor from the Proving Ground.


P.S.--If you want to build it sooner, that isn't the end of the world by any means, it just means that other things will be delayed as a result.

Here I was thinking that it came with more responsibility; but ok, whatever you say Uncle Ben.

By this point in base development, you'll need more power. Also, you should be looking at digging into the 3rd row (or already have). The advantage to getting this deep down is you should hopefully have the ability to clear out a Power Coil room, where you can put your second Power Relay (unless the RNG royally screwed you over and placed all your Power Coils on the bottom row). If you haven't already read why you want to place your Power Relays on the Power Coils, it's because they will give the Power Relay AN ADDITIONAL 10 POWER! (Can I get a "woohoo" for the geothermal vents of XCOM 2?).



Now, ask yourself, "Have I hit my cap on Resistance Contacts?" If so (which is very likely), facility #7 should be a Resistance Comms so you can extend your reach around the globe. Not only is making more resistance connections necessary so you can sabotage more enemy facilities and delay the Avatar Project , but this will increase your income through the monthly supply drop.

Question time: "But Conan, shouldn't I build my 1st Resistance Comms waaaay earlier on? I mean, if these are the equivalents of the Sattelite Uplinks of EU/EW, don't you want to get as many as you can up and running ASAP?" Not necessarily.




[1] While Resistance Comms are similar to Sat Uplinks, they are not the same. In XCOM 2, instead of managing the various world regions' panic levels, you only have to prevent the Avatar Project from being completed, which IMO, is MUCH simpler than the panic levels of EU/EW (I'm happy that they're gone). Some players may look at the red Avatar Project bar at the top of their screen, see it 1/2 full or 3/4 full and start to panic, thinking they don't have much time to stop the aliens from winning. Thankfully, that isn't the case; since the aliens don't auto-win the second all the red boxes fill up. Instead, the game will give you a countdown clock for extra time to counter the aliens' ambitions before the "YOU LOSE" ending (certain # of days, scaling to difficulty level).

Storytime: One time, I saw that all but one red box was filled in, so I did a factory sabatage mission. At the end of it, I got a total reduction of FIVE red boxes, some for the sabatage, some for completing an important storyline objective. So yes, you CAN do last-min damage control.


[2] There are times when a scanning spot on the map yields the reward of an extra resistance contact, making it so you can get away with not having a Resistance Comms constructed so quickly.

*While I'm on that subject, the same goes for ship power, I once found a spot which, after scanning, gave me a permanent +5 ship power...I love it these kinds of bonuses*

[3] "But Conan, aren't you missing out on extra monthly income by not getting more contacts as quickly?" In some ways, that's correct; however, the opportunities to get supplies through other means are numerous: selling at the Black Market, mission rewards, supply raids, clearing out rooms in the Avenger, random scanning spots on the map, etc. This is quite different from EU/EW where you were almost entirely reliant on getting your monthly income up ASAP. In XCOM 2, your monthly income is important, but not paramount in the earlier parts of the campaign.

[4] There are ways of increasing a region's/continent's monthly income amount. Examples include hacking rewards and mission rewards. This means you can still get more monthly income without getting more contacts; so you can build UP alongside of building OUT.

Psi-ops: not only are they badass, but they can look the part too.

Similar to the dicussion of AWC or GTS first, it's hard to choose between these two facilities at this point in the game.


[1] You've delayed getting it this long; don't you want to start the lengthy process of training 1 or 2 psi ops sooner so they can see action before the end of the game?

[2] Psi-ops are versatile units, being equipped with all sorts of buffs/debuffs, single-target/AoE damage, and other special abilities unique to their class.

[2b] Raging hard when those Sectoids panic/mind-control you units? Bring a Psi-op with the Solace passive ability. This not only grants the Psi-op immunity to mind effects, but also cleanses/blocks them from nearby squadmates (in-game represented by a purple aura).


[1] Missing out on Shadow Chamber telling you what to expect on your missions. Knowing if there are mechanical units on my next mission helps me decide if I should bring an EMP Grenade and a set of Bluescreen Rounds or not.

[2] You've (hopefully) been fine all this time with a squad consisting of the 4 regular classes, is it ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to get a Psi-op ASAP to survive? Of course not.

[2b] Since this is mid-game by this point, you've likely grown comfortable with your 5 or 6 man squad(s) and have your M.O. figured out. Fielding a Psi-op means putting one of your other guys on the bench, and sometimes, it's hard to figure out who has to be cut.


[1] The Shadow Chamber is a necessary building in order to progress in the storyline. Not only is it necessary for victory, but it'l let you do certain objectives/missions which (when accomplished) reduce progress on the Avatar Project.

[2] The strategic advantage of seeing the enemy types before starting missions; allowing you to tailor your loadout of soldiers/items more effectively.


[1] Delaying the training of any potential Psi-op soldiers even more. It takes many days of training before a Psi-op becomes useful enough to bring on a mission. So, depending on your supply income, this may mean a pretty big detour.

[2] Remember that researching shadow projects PAUSES YOUR REGULAR RESEARCH! So, if you're a little behind on tech for some reason, are you going to take those precious research days to progress the storyline? (Only if you're desperate for countering the red boxes on the Avatar Project)


If you're handling progress on the Avatar Project just fine without needing to progress the storyline further, go ahead, get those Psi-ops training. If, however, you need those extra storyline objectives to manage the red boxes, get the Shadow Chamber running so you don't lose!

Dr. Tygan is cool n all, but dang, I'm sure I'm not the only one who misses this cold-sciencey woman.


With these last two facilities, I'd recommend not building them until later on.


This thing only sees the light of day on missions where a UFO forces you to land and fight off aliens to protect the Avenger. The rest of the time? Merely a drain on resources. Is it useless? No, but it's kind of like insurance: you have to get it beforehand to use it when you need it. Can you defend the Avenger on these sorts of missions without a Defense Matrix? Certainly, but hey, a few turrets on your side never hurts.


Acts pretty much the same as it did in EU/EW, build this and get tech faster. The main difference is that this is now a unique building (limit of 1) and you have to staff 1-2 scientists in it to benefit. Thank goodness there are no more adjacency bonuses to worry about. (Remember: don't build this adjacent to the Workshop as it has no engineer slots!)


"Wait a min, Conan, are you telling me to delay building the Laboratory until later on? I thought that technology was key to winning in XCOM." Well, you're right; tech is super important. Is spending the supples/power/space on the Lab worth it though? Ehhh, not really. At least on Veteran difficulty, you'll likely end up researching everything before the end of the game (unless you rush the storyline to victory) because the research times aren't super long like Commander/Legend. Besides, you could be using those resources for a dozen other things, like equipment.


When all the other/more important buildings have already been constructed, get these two if you want; I primarily built them in my game because I was curious.

If you've followed my general advice, you'll have a base looking similar to my screenshot here.


[1] Get another Resistance Comms (Facility #12) and upgrade them; you'll want to connect to as many regions as possible.

[2] Upgrade your other buildings as you see fit (perhaps the 2nd slot in that Psi-Lab?)

The next few sections will cover tips about your equipment. The scope of this will not entail weaponry as 1. Primary/secondary weapons are preset, so there's no choice there. 2. All the different grenades/munitions/heavy weapons have their uses, and I'm not going to dive into those in this guide.

Don't let their lack of damage fool you, many of these items are actually quite useful and can save the lives of your soldiers


(Two uses/mission, duration of 4 turns on the ground, no cooldown)

[1] Battle Scanner--Some people's initial thoughts about this might be "It's a basic item available early in the game. It's cheap, and obviously going to be outclassed by other items later on. I'll just save myself the 30 supplies and live without it since I'll probably never use it." WRONG! This thing can not only save your squad's life, but it can also be used to set up ambushes. Throw this into shrouded areas to check for aliens, that way you can make that decision of "Should I trigger that pod this turn, reposition this turn and trigger them next turn, or maybe, if I play my cards right? I can lure them into a couple of overwatch shots?"

Not only does this item reveal an area, but it also reveals concealed aliens (such as disguised Faceless and burrowed Chrysalids).

Recommendation: Build ONE of these early on. Yes, they're super useful, but you'll have so many items competing for your loadout on missions that you won't have room for two.


(Single use/mission--up to 4 uses/mission with medical specialist abilities, no cooldown. Grants holder immunity to poison.)

[2] Medkit--The regular version of this heals 4hp (6hp when upgraded), cures poison, and stabilizes the soldier if they're bleeding out. Do note that if a soldier takes wounds during a mission, and you heal them with a medkit, (even back to full health) that they will STILL be considered wounded and will need X days to recover (based on the severity of the wound and game difficulty).

Recommendation: Build ONE of these early on. IMO, they're only worth equipping on a Specialist with Medical Protocol (heal from a distance via the Gremlin drone) and Field Medic (2 extra uses/mission on medkits). Alternatively, if you're paranoid about poison, I suppose you could equip one of these as a precaution if you have nothing better.


[3] Overdrive Serum--Lasts 2 turns, costs no action points to activate. While I personally don't tend to use these due to their consumable nature, they have a pretty clear benefit: a 2 turn buff for when you REALLY need it. The cost of 35supplies (and one Muton corpse) is kind of steep when you're still building things up. Late in the campaign, however, you might have most (if not all) of the things you need, so it might be more worth the cost then.

Recommendation: Use them at your discretion, just know each one costs 35 supplies. As with any item, they take up space...sooo...maybe you'd rather take something else that helps for more than just two turns in the mission, or maybe two turns of superhero steroids is worth it to you? Your choice.


[4] Mindshield--No activation necessary; it supplies the mental protection passively in your soldier's inventory.

Recommendation: A extremely niche item IMHO. I will admit that there are SOME uses for it: (spoiler)arguably on the final mission because of those 3 Avatars. While its bonuses are nice, on the average mission, ask yourself if you're going to take one of these or a grenade?...That's what I thought. Sorry Mindshield, you have your uses, but given how few slots you have to work with in your loadout, I'd prefer to take other items most of the time.


(With the odd exception of Codeces, which are mechanical, take damage from EMP Grenades/Bluescren Rounds, and yet can be disoriented by Flashbangs)

(Note that disorientation decreases accuracy and prevents certain special abilities from being used. Can be thrown/launched further than regular grenades)

[5] Flashbang--These things are a gift from the gods themselves. Disorient those stupid Sectoids so they can't panic/mind control you. Disorient those Vipers so they don't grab/wrap/poison you. The list goes on. Also great for using on a group which you can't 100% kill in one round so their retaliation is marginalized.

Recommendation: DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THEM! Buy one early on and use regularly. If you want, perhaps get two, but as always: room is limited. A way around this is equipping a Flashbang on your Grenadier who has the Heavy Ordinance ability to have a 2nd use.


(One use/mission)

[6] Mimic Beacon--A top tier item. Do you have that one soldier who is caught out of position/flanked and you think, "Oh no, he is so dead as soon as I end my turn"? NO WORRIES MATE! This little bundle of holo-imaging will draw the aliens' fire for that round (or until it dies). To help prevent the premature death of this gadget, place it behind cover. This item has been nerfed in a recent patch. 1. It now costs 75 supplies. 2. It now no longer benefits from cover and is a guaranteed hit for aliens. All the same, it's still worth it.

Recommendation: Build ONE when you can. I'd put this high on the priority list of defensive items.


(Smoke only grants defensive bonus, does not block line of sight. Also doesn't count as a "grenade" in terms of grenade limits for your soldiers.)

[7] Smoke Grenade--Want the benefit of a defensive protocol without a specialist? Look no further! XCOM put it in a can for your convenience, no Gremlin necessary! Get yours for 4 easy payments of $9.99 and free shipping if you order now! (Sent via Amazon drone delivery system)

Recommendation--Ok, all jokes aside, this item...it's just plain old not worth the 25 supplies. How often are you going to use your combat action to grant a defensive bonus? A Specialist's defensive protocol takes only one action and can be more effective when upgraded. This smoke-in-a-can isn't literally "useless", it's just outclassed. Like I said with the Mindshield--

The purpose of this section is to show you how amazing it is to actually upgrade your armor. If you're like me, you see the armor upgrade research available for the first time and go, "Yeah, I'm sure it's good, but is it REALLY important to get now, or can it wait?" Additionally, this will show something which I had no clue about when I first started playing, because it was different from EU/EW.
(Apologies for low-quality pictures, I had some "challenges" when getting these screenshots)




[1] Predator Armor--AKA regular armor level 2. In the early parts of the game, getting an additional 4HP is HUGE! To put this in perspective, this will DOUBLE a rookie's hp from 4 to 8! Now, obviously the percentage increase of health descreases as you rank up, but no matter how you slice it, 4hp will save your soldiers' lives.

But wait there's more! This handy dandy armor also comes with a second item slot! Before you get your hopes up, no, there is a limit of one grenade per soldier, (only Grenadiers get 2 grenade slots). All the same, this opens up your loadout choices immensely, as you can now field most of your guys with a grenade AND a supplementary item. This makes bringing your Battle Scanners/Mimmic Beacons/special ammunition a breeze!


I cannot stress this enough, with Predator/Warden armor, once you purchase it from Lilly Shen in the Engineering Bay, that's it; you have as many copies of this armor as you need, so you can field all of your soldiers with it. This means that it's a very good supply investment. See now, I came into this game with the experience of EU/EW where you had to buy individual equipment pieces, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out about this.



[2] Warden Armor--AKA regular armor level 3. Does the same stuff as Predator armor with two notable exceptions: 2more hp and 1armor. In regards to the hp, hey, 50% more, sounds good. In regards to the 1 pt of armor, HOLY PADDED PROTECTION BATMAN! This shaving of 1 damage is a (literal) life-saver. This armor allows to you to give that extra level of protection to all your soldiers without needing any of the special armor types. Basically, Warden armor is the Jack-of-all-trades equipment if you don't have a special armor you'd rather use.

This section will cover the main armors which are developed at the Proving Ground instead of merely purchased with supplies at the Engineering Bay. Unlike Predator/Warden armor, each of these must be individually created at the Proving Grounds, so you'll have a limited number of them.




[1] E.X.O. Suit--This is your first-avaialble heavy armor. With 5hp and 1armor point, this has a significant defensive advantage compared to Predator armor (4hp, 2nd item slot). "So you're telling me I'm trading 1 item slot for 1hp and 1armor point, how is this a big advantage?" BECAUSE YOU ALSO GET ONE HEAVY WEAPON SLOT, THATS WHY. Crying because your Grenadiers don't have a rocket launcher like the Heavy class of EU/EW? Wipe away those tears, because now any class can have one if you want!

As the screenshot says, initially you only have the option of a rocket launcher to mount of this thing, but as you progress in technology development, you can attach all sorts of other things on this, like a Flamethrower or a Chain Gun. The extremely important thing you want to know is that any given heavy weapon mounted on this will only have one shot/mission.

• Some of you might be tempted to spend your time/resources creating a lot of these, thinking "How fun would it be to give half of my squad rocket launchers?" DO NOT DO THIS!
  
  First, it'l cost you a lot of resources and time, primarily in Elerium Cores which are very precious as they're used for almost every Proving Ground project. You should diversify your Proving Ground projects and spend those cores on other things like developing grenades, munitions, other armors, etc.
  
  Second, there is the W.A.R. Suit, which is a more-advanced version of this, so you don't want to invest too much in this early on because you'll get the next model later on.
  
  Lastly, wearing an E.X.O. Suit doesn't give you the second item slot like Predator/Warden Armor does, and you want SOME room for defensive items like Flashbangs/Mimic Beacons/Battle Scanners in your squad.

Build one of these (possibly two if you can't wait for the W.A.R. Suit to get a 2nd heavy weapon carrier) and equip it on your Grenadier (preferably with the Salvo ability when available).



[2] W.A.R. Suit--Essentially the E.X.O. Suit Mk II. Has one more HP and armor point on it and a special "Shieldwall" ability to make that soldier supply cover for another one of your guys. I personally haven't tested out the Shieldwall ability, so I don't have much to say on it right now [Note to update section when I've done more testing].

Just like the heavy armors, the mobility armors are developed at the Proving Ground in limited quantities.



[1] Spider Suit--Spider Suit. Does whatever a Spider Suit does. Can it swing from a grappling hook? Yes it can, it's got one mounted on the left arm. In all seriousness now, this is an excellent armor which is available not that far into the game. With 4hp, 1 mobillity, and 20 dodge, this suit offers decent early/mid game protection. One mobility may not necessarily sound like that much, but how many times have you been ONE SPACE AWAY from: Cover? Being inside/outside line of sight? Melee range for your Ranger to slice n dice a xeno? You get the picture.

Grappling hooks: are awesome. They are a FREE ACTION which you can use to move up to places like roofs, up a ledge, etc. Imagine all that free movement, and still having two actions to further reposition or fire. The only downside? There's a cooldown on it. A small price to pay, but worth it.

• Just like the section on the E.X.O. suit, you might be tempted to go overboard and build a bunch of these so your squad can all swing like Spiderman. IT'S NOT WORTH IT!
  
  First, it'l cost you a lot of resources and time, primarily in Elerium Cores which are very precious as they're used for almost every Proving Ground project. You should diversify your Proving Ground projects and spend those cores on other things like developing grenades, munitions, other armors, etc.
  
  Second, just like the E.X.O./W.A.R. Suits, it doesn't give you the second item slot like Predator/Warden Armor does; and you want SOME room for defensive items like Flashbangs/Mimic Beacons/Battle Scanners in your squad.
  
  Third, there is the Wraith Suit, which is a more-advanced version of this, so you don't want to invest too much in this early on because you'll get the next model later on.

Build ONE of these (possibly two if you can't wait for the Wraith Suit to get a second grappling hook). My favorite thing to do with this is to give it to my sniper so she can get up high easily and rain death from above. Second suggestion would be to give to your Ranger for better mobility and that dodge doesn't hurt either.



[2] Wraith Suit--While this is essentially the Spider Suit Mk II, with 2 extra hp, 1 extra mobility, and 5 extra dodge and the same reliable grappling hook, it has one additional feature: the activated ability which allows you to pass through walls (free action to use). I could take time here to paint a picture of what you could do with this, but I'll just leave that to your imagination...soooo many possible uses...

Let the sniper keep her Spider Suit (as she doesn't need the extra defense, since she'll likely be "safely" behind the rest of your squad), and give this puppy to your Ranger. Not only are Rangers typically near the frontline of your squad (so dodge helps), but having that extra two mobility can be great for scouting or combo phasing through walls with a sword slash.

Move over Neil deGrasse Tyson, there's a new scientist in town!

I'm sure that some in the XCOM community will make their own research order guides, saying to start with this, then get this, then this, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with research order guides, but I personally don't feel the need to make one myself. Instead, I will list some general information about research that newer players will want to know so they can be better informed on how to make good research decisions.


[1] There are no interrogations per se in XCOM 2, just autopsies. (Well, maybe with the exception of that scene with the Codex in the Shadow Chamber, but I'm not sure if you'd call that an "interrogation" or not) This means that you don't have to worry about researching something before getting that 50% research bonus on a certain category of tech or whatever it was in EU/EW after interrogating each type of alien.

[2] In EU/EW, when you researched a new weapon type, you had to purchase individual units of that new tech. Exmple: You just researched a laser rifle? Great, now you have to buy 6 of them if you wanted to give one to each member of your squad. In XCOM 2, when you research a new Primary/Secondary weapon, once you pay an initial supplies fee at Lilly Shen's Engineering Bay, all of those types of weapons are automatically upgraded. So when you're counting the cost of "Hmmm, should I upgrade my Ranger's shotgun right now?" know that you're paying for the benefit of ALL of your rangers' shotguns, not just one.

[2b] Do note that you can potentially skip from level 1 weapons (regular) to level 3 (plasma). It is not required to have level 2 (Mag weapons) already purchased at the Engineering Bay to be able to purchase level 3 (plasma weapons) if you have them researched! Therefore, don't feel bad if, in your playthrough, you've reached the tech for plasma weapons and haven't purchased the mag weapon upgrade for all of the different classes; all this potentially means is that you'll end up saving supplies in the long run by skipping from level 1 to 3. Also, when you upgrade a gun to its next tech level, don't worry: attachments (like scopes, clips, etc) stay on there.


Especially earlier in the game, when it asks you to assign a new research, you might have a few different options. Here are a few factors for you to consider which help you make that decision.

[1] The Supply Cost--When this tech is done in X days, will I even have the supplies to purchase the things that it yields? If the answer is "no" or "I'd rather spend my supplies on something else first", then maybe you can get something else and leave that one for later.

[2] Length of Research--Say you're feeling the need for two different things, and both of them are available to research right now. Check how long each one will take. Oftentimes it's better to research the shorter one first so you can get SOME benefit sooner as opposed to later. That is not always the case, of course, as maybe the other option really is worth the wait.

[2b] On the flipside of the coin, don't be intimidated by long research times if it's for something that you really need. Just because it says 12 days doesn't mean you should ignore it.

[3] When faced with the choice of "Should I research the armor or the weapon first"--(Well, except for reanimated corpses...stupid Sectoids...)

[3b] On the flipside of this, know that for "regular armor" levels 2 & 3 (Predator & Warden), it only costs one sum of supplies for ALL of your soldiers to benefit. Contrast that with needing to shell out the supplies for the shotguns, then more for assault rifiles, then more for cannons, then sniper rifles, etc (list goes on with the secondary weapons). This may motivate you to seek the "biggest bang for your buck" and go for the armor first; however, it's up to what you think is best based on how things are going in your campaign.

[4] Autopsies--So I had this one time where originally in the research screen it said that a certain autopsy would take X number of days. Later on when I looked again, it said something to the effect of "You fought this type of alien enough to be able to complete this autopsy instantly". Basically, there is a mechanic where if you have enough corpses of an alien, it'l allow you to do the autopsy instantly! (# of corpses required based on which alien it is and your difficulty level)

Research Tree
This is a link to a Reddit thread where someone with a lot of time on their hands (just like me) made a picture with all the different techs/autopsies/proving grounds projects etc. It's a useful reference, but again: don't click on it unless you want spoilers!

Oh boy, where to start? There are SOOOOO many changes with this expansion pack, it can be a little overwhelming. In this addition to my original guide, I will help make things clear to you.

• Three new buildings! (and one old one removed).
  
  
• Three other resistance factions with special Hero Class soldiers! (Reapers, Skirmishers,
  and Templars)
  
  
• Three new Advent enemies! (Purifiers, Priests, & Spectres)
  
  
• A hostile group of zombies mutant humans! (The Lost)
  
  
• Three uber-alien henchmen known as "The Chosen".
  
  
• A "Covert Ops" mission system.
  
  
• A Fire Emblem-esque "Bond System" to form pairs between XCOM soldiers for various kinds of
  bonuses when they're together on missions.
  
  
• Soldiers can acquire "Negative Traits" from traumatic experiences in the field.
  
  
• A soldier fatigue system, which forces you to not use the same soldiers mission after mission, even if they weren't physically wounded in combat.
  
  
• An "Ability Points" system, which is in addition to the regular leveling system, allowing you to create even-more-powerful and unique soldiers.
  
  
• Some new mission types and "SITREPs", which add special conditions (both positive & negative) on certain missions.
  
  
• Three XCOM bases with unique scanning bonuses instead of one central location.
  
  
• New Dark Events and "Chosen Activities" to cause more trouble for you.
  
  
• Research "Inspirations" and "Breakthroughs".
  
  
• A few more items/equipment.
  
  
• The Photo Studio
  
  
• And more!

In WOTC, they made a few changes to the facilities available in the Avenger.





This new building allows you to assign a few of your soldiers to go on special "Covert Ops" missions. Engineer slot available to cut mission completion time by a third.

It also has multiple upgrades to grant you two additional Wildcard Resistance Order slots.




This new building has three main functions:

• Retrain the skills of a soldier (X days depending on difficulty level, 5 on Veteran)
  
  
• Improve Bond Levels to 2+ (Bond level 1 has no facility requirement)
  
  
• Enables you to spend "Ability Points" on your normal soldiers for powers in addition to the regular 1 skill per promotion. (Note: the three "Hero Classes" don't need this building to spend their AP.)

This new building has three main functions:

• Engineer slot to halve soldiers' wounded recovery time.
  
  
• Remove a "Negative Trait" from a soldier (Takes X days depending on difficulty, 5 on Veteran)
  
  
• (When upgraded) Allows you to "Suspend a soldier's health for the duration of one combat mission". Honestly, the description was so vague, I looked for answers and found this:

The Advanced Warfare Center is no more! Instead, its functions were split between the Infirmary and the Training Center. This was mainly due to the introduction of the Ability Points and Soldier Bonding systems. When you think about it, adding two new mechanics like those really justifies splitting the AWC into two other facilities, otherwise one building would do WAAAYYYY too much.





The Lab's basic function of decreasing research times still applies, however, it has a new function due to a new mechanic: It increases the chance/frequency of research "Inspirations" and "Breakthroughs".


Inspiration--When you finish any given research, there is a chance that your science team will have an inspiration on a certain technology, meaning they will research it quicker than normal. The only catch is: You must decided to start researching that tech immediately, otherwise the inspiration is lost.

Breakthrough--When you finish any given research, there is a chance that your science team will have a breakthrough on a certain technology. This is different from an inspiration (faster research time) as the bonus for a breakthrough is being able to research a special technology which is not normally available through conventional means. These special techs are pretty different in nature, such as "next excavation is instant", "next power plant you build is half the normal supplies cost", and other miscellaneous upgrades.


On the lower difficulties, it's *almost* a no-brainer to choose the inspirations and breakthroughs when they pop up. (a) For Inspirations, half research time is worth it *almost* all the time. Even if the tech wasn't what you were really wanting, it's likely not going to be a long detour. (b) For Breakthroughs, these are unique bonuses, wouldn't you rather get them instead of losing out on the opportunity?

On higher difficulties where the margin of error in your campaign is generally much smaller and research times are longer, it might be detrimental to take tech detours. You wouldn't want your soldiers dying because they have bad weapons and armor right?

Note that inspirations can trigger not just for techs, but also for autopsies. Remember that once you have enough corpses/wreckage of a certain alien type (number determined by difficulty level) the autopsy is instant, so sometimes it might not be worth taking an inspiration on an autopsy because "I can research it for free later on once I've killed more aliens".

(Cough) "I mean, ALIENS!"

If you've read my vanilla XCOM 2 building guide above, then you'll already have a pretty good idea on how to best place the Avenger's facilities. That being said, the few facility changes/additions which came with the ex pack change a couple of priorities.

I would like to remind everyone that this build order guide is not always the best plan for every situation; XCOM is a game about adapting to your situation, which can be more or less ideal depending on your difficulty level and how nice RNG is being to you. Also, for sake of brevity, I will not always put as much detail in my explanations if they are already included in my original building guide above--I highly encourage you to read it because a lot of those ideas still apply.


Place either in Row 1 Column 1 or Row 1 Column 3. (because I am assuming you'll end up placing your Workshop in R2 C2) I typically find the R1 C1 is your first open slot, so just place it there. REMEMER THIS FACILITY HAS NO ENGINEER SLOT, so don't place it next to your workshop. Its early game advantages are pretty clear: Train rookies into squaddies so you don't have field rookies as much in the early missions. Not only this, but allowing you to buy upgrades like the first squad size is invaluable.




Some of the upgrades from the GTS have been moved or removed (presumably for game balance reasons). My guess is, since there are new systems like Hero Classes, Ability Points, and Soldier Bonds, they needed to scale back a couple of things. Note that you'll see some of the former GTS bonuses as continent bonuses (Example--the PCS upgrade is now a continent bonus).


This building is super important to get as soon as you can in your campaign. Without it, you are only able to send out Covert Ops missions once a month. Once you have it operational, however, you are able to send out Covert Ops missions as soon as you finish a Covert Ops mission. I won't go into detail on the Covert Ops system in this section, but suffice to say that not only are they necessary for doing the campaign, but they'll also give you plenty of bonuses, soldier experience, resistence faction reputation, etc.

I would recommend placing this on R1 C2, so it can be adjacent to your Workshop (which presumably you'll put on R2 C2).


I would recommend placing this on R2 C2. For more information as to why I recommend this spot, make sure to read my original build order guide above.

Now, it might be tempting to utilize that open space in R1 C3 before building the workshop. I suppose you could do so, however, I find that rushing to build the workshop should be your main goal when optomizing your facility construction and excavations.


At this point, you'll really need some more power to expand. I would recommend placing the power plant on R2 C1 or R2 C3 so it's adjacent to your workshop. I suppose you could also place it on R3 C2, but since that's third row, it takes longer to excavate, so second row is likely best.




You will likely want to place the Training Center in R1 C3 as the Training Center doesn't have an engineer slot. Frankly, you can place it wherever you want AS LONG AS IT'S NOT ADJACENT TO THE WORKSHOP.

Place the Infirmary at R2 C1, R2 C3, or R3 C2, essentially, SOMEWHERE ADJACENT TO YOUR WORKSHOP.

As for the Proving Grounds, place it adjacent to your workshop at either R2 C1, R2 C3, or R3 C2 (depending on where you placed your Power Plant and Infirmary).


You could change the order of the three above to whatever you want, really; it's all a matter of priorities. Consider, however, what I said about the Proving Grounds in my original guide above: you don't need to rush building it because most of its projects take Elerium Cores, which are more limited in general. That being said, if you chose at the beginning of the game to turn off the story missions for Alien Hunters & Shen's Last Gift DLCs, then you'll have more projects avaialble (such as building the Alien Hunters DLC weapons and the SPARK unit). If you really want to get those sooner as opposed to later, then I'm sure it's fine to do Proving Grounds fifth.

Also, if you're being efficient with your engineers and their excavations, there is a decent chance that you'll be able to build some of these facilities concurrently (as all you were waiting on was more power).


Some might ask: "Conan, why are you delaying building the Training Center? Don't you want to be able to use your regular soldier's Ability Points and get soldier bonds to level 2 and over?" Here's the truth of the matter: most of the abilities which you can spend your AP on cost a lot (as in, 10 or 11 points are the CHEAPEST).

• It will take time for your soldiers to get enough AP to spend in the first place.
  
  
• It will take time for your soldiers to be promoted to higher ranks in order to unlock those extra potential abilities which are granted by AP.
  
  
• It takes time for your soldier bonds to develop to level 1 and even to level 2.
  
  
• The three Hero Classes don't need the Training Center to utilize their ability points.

Essentially, you're not missing out on much by delaying building this till later on.


"Conan, how can you possibly recommend building the Infirmary so late, won't your soldiers be stuck on the injured list for too long without it?"

If you've read my vanilla build order guide above, you'll notice how I recommended building the Advaned Warfare Center as either the first or second facility for your base for that reason: you don't want your good soldiers to be benched for too long. The answer as to why I suggest differently is because of the new Fatigue mechanic. With soldier fatigue, even if you're a pro who doesn't let his soldier get wounded, they'll need time off of active missions to recuperate anyways. This essentially means that you'll be rotating which soldiers you use waaaaaayyyyy more than you did in vanilla XCOM 2. As a result of this forced rotation, you'll have more leeway in giving your wounded time to recover because they'll need to recover their fatigue anyways.

Not only this, but remember that to benefit from the halved wound recovery time, you have to station an engineer at the Infirmary. Especially in the early parts of the campaign, you might not really have an engineer to really spare to sit in the medical bay. No, that would be a waste; they should be out there clearing out rooms and building facilities.

If RNG is good to you, you'll have an exposed power coil on the third row. Utilize this spot for your second power plant for an extra boost. If RNG was not kind to you, you'll have to clear rooms down the fourth row and build it there. Even if this happens to you, it's still worth waiting to build your second power plant on a power coil because you won't want to build a third plant on the Avenger; that would take up too many spots.


Since by this point in the game your Workshop will already have all four adjacent spots filled, it kind of doesn't matter precisely WHERE you build your remaining facilities. The only thing to consider is putting a high-energy facility (perhaps the Shadow Chamber or Psi Lab?) on your OTHER exposed power coil.

Author's note: Please see the vanilla build order guide above for my section on why I delay building a Resistance Comms until later.


With all those other facilities built and your war engine whirring along nicely, it's time to finally build that Shadow Chamber so you can progress further into the campaign and win. After that, go ahead and build the Psi Lab to start training some Psi Ops for late-game use.

Author's note: Please see the vanilla build order guide above for my section on why I delay building these two until later.

The only thing I will add to that discussion is: The inclusion of the psionic-powered Templar hero class HELPS to alleviate the downside of waiting to train Psi Operatives. Obviously they're still different from each other, but it's something.


To be able to get the whole world in your resistence network, you'll need two fully-upgraded Resistance Comms. You've built up plenty of things by now; it's time to finish connecting the regions.


At this point, if you have a desire to do so,you can demolish your GTS (assuming you've purchased ALL the upgrades from there) because that facility won't have any real use to you. If you don't have any rookies to train or upgrades to buy, why keep it?


Since demolishing the GTS isn't an option, I suppose that if you can spare the engineers, you can demolish the Workshop. Essentially, by demolishing the Workshop, you're only losing two engineers. By the time the late game comes, all your rooms are cleared and facilities constructed, so downsizing by two just might work.

What to put instead of your Workshop?

• Perhaps make a Laboratory to help crank out whatever research is still missing at this point? (Especially considering the storyline item researches.)
  
  
• Perhaps put a Defense Matrix in to help with times when a UFO or Chosen comes knocking on your front door? (I still think this facility is crap, but hey, if you want the extra insurance.)

See my discussion on the Laboratory and Defense Matrix in my vanilla guide above. Apparently there is more merit to both of them in the expansion pack due to 1. More opportunities for the Avengger to be assaulted and 2. The Laboratory's increased functions. Make whatever decision you think is best.


It was suggested to me by a friend that with the introduction of the Inspiration and Breakthrough mechanics, that building a lab early game (and placing it either on R1 C1 or R1 C3) can pay off because:

• There IS a Breakthrough which gives you a free/instant room clearing. My main objection to building a Laboratory so early is because it delays your general construction plan. Having a free/instant room clear or two however, can tip the scales in favor of making a lab.
  
  
• Faster research through conventional means and more Inspirations. This is pretty self-explanatory: more research is a good thing.
  
  
• More Breakthroughs means more small bonuses which can add up throughout your campaign.

The downside of building a Laboratory early on:

• It takes up valuable early-game space and power and slows down the progress of your other buildings. In my opinion, the other buildings are more important to get sooner as opposed to later.
  
  
• Some of the benefits I mentioned a few lines above are RNG dependent, meaning that sometimes it WILL pay off, and other times it WON'T. I would generally prefer to not leave things to chance.

(02/14/16)--Decided to start a changelog for the fun of it. Also edited section on the Mindshield to include the fact that it has SOME uses, even though I personally don't think it worthwhile 90% of the time (at least on Veteran, that is). I prefer the strategy of "The sectoids can't mess with your mind when they're dead/disoriented" (Flashbangs FTW).

(04/05/16)--Finally got around to updating the section on Mimic Beacons to account for that recent patch which nerfed them. Also, OVER 9,000 UNIQUE VIEWS, WOO!



(06/26/16)--Clarified some info about the Advanced Warfare Center, as its general description in-game is somewhat vague/misleading/confusing. Now over 10K unique views!



(09/08/17)--Started additions to my guide for War of the Chosen expansion pack content. Created two new sections. Also minor editing in the original part of the guide for a spelling issue, and removed a couple of erroreous info lines. Now over 18K unique views!

(09/09/17)--Started and finished my expansion pack build order sections.

(09/11/17)--Made revisions to the second section of my build order guide for the expansion pack due to finding out that it is a BAD IDEA to demolish the GTS. (Thanks for Capitalism & Freedom for this info.)

(2/11/16) Originally I had a much larger vision for my guide when I first started it on the 8th of February as there weren't that many good resources out there. At this point, however, the community has finally gotten some more things together, so I feel pretty good ending it here for now. Perhaps something may strike me with inspiration and cause me to write more, but I've spent a lot of hours over these last three days on this guide and am satisfied with its current state. I will continue to update this guide whenever I find something to add/change.

Since it's been asked in the comments before, no, I'm not going to make a class build guide (at least not now; never know what the future will hold). Instead, I will leave this link to well-known XCOM Youtuber "BeagleRush", who has made a guide on this subject. He's pretty pro and knows what he's talking about, so it's worth a look. BeagleRush's Class Builds Guide

My advice isn't the only right way to do things, but if you approach reading guides in the way that I do, I consider them "useful food for thought which I can use to help come to my own conclusions". It's why I go into detail on not only WHAT I recommend, but WHY I recommend it.


Like turn-based-tactical games? Check out my guide on Final Fantasy Tactics spiritual successor, Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark!

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1488578363