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There are three new friendly factions in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen DLC. Find out everything about their abilities!

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen DLC Factions Guide

There are three new friendly factions in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen DLC. Find out everything about their abilities!
This article is over 7 years old and may contain outdated information

The world of XCOM 2 sees a new threat in its latest DLC, War of the Chosen . Powerful boss-like enemies known as “The Chosen” have invaded the world and are set on recapturing the Commander. And seeing as they’re almost immortal and can revive themselves in their Citadel, you’re going to need some help defeating them. 

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The only way to put an end to The Chosen is to befriend the three factions that resist the ADVENT: the Reapers, Skirmishers, and Templars. They are the ones that can find the locations of the Citadel and destroy The Chosen once and for all.

Keep on reading this guide, if you can’t decide on which faction to choose, and learn what benefits they provide.

The Reaper Faction in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

Reapers use a special concealment ability called “Shadows” that allows them to stay undetected for as long as they don’t shoot from cover using a sniper rifle. But even then, there is only a 50% chance of them being detected (if your shots are precise) or not being detected at all (if you’re using special abilities).

You can also use the combination of powerful Claymore explosives and consecutive sniper shots to take enemies down. Just throw the Claymore at the enemy or a vehicle and shoot it from distance for a devastating blow. Surely, this kind of attack will reveal your position, but by that time, most of your enemies will be dead anyway.

If you like this kind of stealthy approach, then Reapers are the best choice for you. Below you will find Reaper abilities:

Rank Ability Description
Squaddie Shadow Gains an advanced form of concealment
Squaddie Claymore Throws a targetable environmental explosive
Corporal Remote Start Detonates an environmental explosive
Corporal Blood Trail Shots deal +1 damage if the target has
been wounded this turn
Sergeant Target Definition Any unit seen by a Reaper remains permanently visible
Sergeant Shrapnel Claymore does +3 damage and has +1 radius
Lieutenant Silent Killer Kills with the Vektor Rifle do not increase the Reaper’s chance to break out of Shadow
Lieutenant Distraction Kills with Claymore put the Reaper into Shadow
Lieutenant Needle Shots taken in Shadow have +2 armor piercing
Captain Sting Fire a shot preserving a Shadow
Captain Soul Harvest Kill shots increase crit chance by 5 (max 20)
Major Highlands Carry an additional Claymore
Major Banish Fire at a target until you run out of ammo or it dies
Colonel Homing Mine Attach a Claymore onto an enemy
Colonel Annihilate Kill a target with Banish and continue
firing at another enemy

 

The Skirmisher Faction in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

The Skirmishers formed from a group of those who managed to escape the clutches of the ADVENT. These former agents are looking for ways to take revenge, and since they are being threatened by The Chosen as well, they will help you find and destroy them.

The Skirmishers consists of soldiers that utilize assault rifles and grappling gauntlets. The latter weapon not only helps them better move around shooting positions, but it also helps them pull themselves up to an enemy for tons of melee damage with the help of the Ripjack ability.

If you like shooting and moving around the map at a fast pace, then think about siding with the Skirmishers. Below you will find Skirmisher abilities:

Rank Ability Description
Squaddie Marauder Standard shots are not turn-ending, allowing for shooting, then moving, or shooting twice on a turn
Squaddie Justice Use the Grapple to pull a humanoid target to you and deliver a Ripjack strike
Squaddie Grapple When fired upon, gain one extra action on the next turn
Corporal Reflex Shots deal +1 damage if the target
has been wounded this turn
Corporal Total Combat Throwing a grenade or using an item
no longer ends the turn
Sergeant Wrath Use the Grapple to pull yourself to an enemy
and deliver a Ripjack strike
Sergeant Zero In Subsequent shots on the same turn
provide +10 critical chance
Lieutenant Wiplash Attack an enemy with an electrical lash
Lieutenant Full Throttle Gain +2 mobility with every kill this turn
Captain Combat Presence Grant an extra action to a squadmate
Captain Retribution Free Ripjack attacks on any enemies that enter
or attack from melee range
Captain Interrupt Instead of firing automatically, perform any single action
Major Waylay When entering Overwatch, you can take as many shots as you have remaining actions
Major Reckoning Unlock the Ripjack Slash attack
Colonel Manual Override Lower all ability cooldowns by 1
Colonel Battlelord After each enemy in line of sight takes a turn, take an immediate action
Colonel Judgement When targeted by an attack, the enemy
has a chance to panic

The Templar Faction in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

The Templars are psionic soldiers from the Enemy Unknown era, and probably are the hardest allies to play with.

The Templars’ main weapons are swordblades. These are made from psionic energy and look cooler than anything you’ve seen in the series. This means that a Templar soldier will mainly fight in close melee combat that requires a lot of defensive features — and look awesome doing it. 

In any case, whether you want to put more power into your damage stat or use soldiers with better defenses, you will need Focus — a resource that can be gained by killing enemies — that serves as an enhancement for all other Templar abilities.

Below you will find all the Templar abilities:

Rank Ability Description
Squaddie Rend Melee attack with a chance to stun
or disorient the target
Squaddie Volt Psionic attack that deals low damage, but jumps to nearby units at higher Focus
Squaddie Focus Gain Focus during missions, increasing stats, damage, and ability effectiveness
Corporal Parry After attacking with Rend, prevent all damage from the next attack instead of moving
Corporal Aftershock Targets struck by Volt will be easier to hit, increasing your squad’s aim by +15 against the target
Corporal Amplify Mark a single target with a Psionic lens, causing them to take an additional 33% damage
Sergeant Overcharge Rend attacks have a 33% chance to generate Focus
Sergeant Pillar Summon a pillar of Psionic energy to
act as a high cover point
Sergeant Stun Strike Strike an enemy with Psionic force, knocking them back in the direction of the attack
Lieutenant Deflect When the Templar has Focus, there is a chance to deflect incoming shots
Lieutenant Channel When an enemy dies, it may leave behind Psionic energy that can be collected to raise Focus level
Captain Reflect If you have 2 or more Focus, there is a chance to reflect incoming shots back at the attacker
Captain Invert Switch locations with an enemy unit
Captain Deep Focus The maximum Focus level is increased to 3
Major Arc Wave Rend generates a wave of Psionic energy in the direction of the attack
Major Exchange Exchange locations with a squad mate
Colonel Ionic Storm Summon lightning to strike all nearby enemies
Colonel Void Conduit Trap a humanoid in a Psionic prison, immobilizing them for multiple actions and transferring their health to you
Colonel Ghost Create a duplicate from the body of a fallen humanoid

 

That’s it for the War of the Chosen factions guide, but don’t forget to check back soon for even more XCOM 2 action at GameSkinny. 


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Serhii Patskan
Serhii is the Writer at GameSkinny. He's been writing for GameSkinny since 2015. Before that, he's been writing for various outlets and playing video games, which eventually turned into a passion. The video games that have contributed the most to his enthusiasm for writing about this industry are Magic: The Gathering, Dark Souls, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.