In XComGameData.ini there is the line: SoldierRewardForceLevelGates=#. In the past, I would change the # to the number of my choice to show that at # Force Level, the Soldiers I can recruit from the Black Market and obtain as Mission awards and such will be of the specified Rank. In the latest patch, and in last year's patch, simply changing the "#" to another has no effect on altering the ranks of the soldiers I get to recruit.

In the past, I would alter the Force Level for LCPL rank to be: SoldierRewardForceLevelGates=21 (It was originally 2), because I want the satisfaction of seeing my Squaddies or pure Rookies turn from zeroes to heroes. Now if I turn the # to 21 up from 2, the game treats it as if the value were "2", like it doesn't matter what number I put into it.

Am I the only one with this issue? What was your work-around?

As an aside, is there a way to make the Black Market recruit only Rookies that I can do via the game files without going too deep into modding?

Thanks in advance.