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1. Xcom 2 Non Steam Mods

XCOM: Enemy Within expansion.

And boy does War of the Chosen add a lot to the game. Let's run over just a few of these:

Found the fantastic r/xcom2mods subreddit, and specifically Xcom 2 Mod Launcher. The geoscape lag issue is caused (as far as saw in my own game) by mods conflicting. And the Mod launcher highlights those conflicts. Initial googling pointed out 'Cost-based ability icons' and 'additional icons' mods. Ok I got it fixed. Took 4 hours since apparently the vanilla XCOM and WoTC are just so damn different. Almost like two different games. So I had to rebuild the mod from scratch and even discard some of the new stuff. Now I have two versions: A vanilla version with most of the new stuff and the WoTC with everything.

• Three new factions with playable soldiers; the Reapers, the Skirmishers and the Templar.
• New 'Chosen' uber-aliens, plus a number of new regular enemy units.
• A new 'bond' system that strengthens units who fight together.
• A new 'fatigue' system that adds a grey area between fit and wounded soldier status.
• A really helpful 'target preview' that allows you to see what your potential move has in store.
• New zombie enemies called 'The Lost' who you take on in swarms.
• So much more I'm not going to list it all here.

Suffice to say, with all of this new content and then quite a bit more that I haven't listed, the game is deeper and more tactical than ever. The new characters and missions add to both the story and the strategy, though missions are more harrowing than ever.

In other words, this is a great time to dust off XCOM 2 or pick it up for the first time. Then again, if you're new to these games, War of the Chosen is not an easy jumping off point at all. Indeed, I'd recommend you start with XCOM rather than the sequel in general, if only because the game is so much less stressful.

on top of research being completed and a facility being built. Suddenly you have three different missions that are all top priority that you can't ignore, plus Dark Events going off and the main story mission drawing closer, half your best troops are wounded and now the other half are fatigued...it's just too much.

Maybe I'm a filthy casual. Maybe I just don't have the time and patience to juggle all of this at once. But while I was absolutely addicted to the first game and its expansion, I'm much less fond of the sequel for exactly this reason. It doesn't help that the missions have sudden, sharp difficulty spikes either, and that when you're in Iron Man mode (which allows just one auto-save point) you can easily find yourself in an almost unwinnable situation.

I guess I just never liked how hectic XCOM 2 was compared to its predecessor, and I feel maybe even a little more strongly about this with the expansion. More depth, more options, etc. also means more balls in the air.

Mario + Rabbids it's almost entirely about the battle tactics and you're not worrying about base management or keeping territories happy and there's no grim bald guy chastising you between missions.

Actually, I think I'd be happiest with a middle ground of some sort, wedged between the simplicity of Mario + Rabbids and XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. I don't necessarily want easier battles, but I would like less to manage in-between them. It feels like the game just bombards you with choices and keeps your resources so thin that any little mistake sends the whole thing spinning out of control. I beat XCOM 2, and I'm maybe eight hours into War of the Chosen, but so far I feel like the expansion adds a lot without streamlining enough (beyond target view.) That's not a bad thing necessarily---I'm sure lots of gamers love it just the way it is, and more power to you.

For me, something slightly less stressful and hectic would be more fun. But hey, that's just me. What do you think?

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War of the Chosen is the new massive expansion to XCOM 2, and is more of a total overhaul of the base game than a traditional expansion. That's to be expected. After all, this is what developer Firaxis has been doing for some time now. The same could be said for the Civ games' expansions, or for the wonderful XCOM: Enemy Within expansion.

And boy does War of the Chosen add a lot to the game. Let's run over just a few of these:

• Three new factions with playable soldiers; the Reapers, the Skirmishers and the Templar.
• New 'Chosen' uber-aliens, plus a number of new regular enemy units.
• A new 'bond' system that strengthens units who fight together.
• A new 'fatigue' system that adds a grey area between fit and wounded soldier status.
• A really helpful 'target preview' that allows you to see what your potential move has in store.
• New zombie enemies called 'The Lost' who you take on in swarms.
• So much more I'm not going to list it all here.

Suffice to say, with all of this new content and then quite a bit more that I haven't listed, the game is deeper and more tactical than ever. The new characters and missions add to both the story and the strategy, though missions are more harrowing than ever.

In other words, this is a great time to dust off XCOM 2 or pick it up for the first time. Then again, if you're new to these games, War of the Chosen is not an easy jumping off point at all. Indeed, I'd recommend you start with XCOM rather than the sequel in general, if only because the game is so much less stressful.

That's one area where I wish War of the Chosen had done more to change. I know that hardcore players may give me grief over this, but there are times in XCOM 2 (vanilla and WotC) that I stop having fun and just feel overwhelmed. Little things really impact my enjoyment in big ways, like the need to go pick up Supply Drops. Sometimes you're trying to just gather some Intel or Supplies and five other notifications bombard you on top of research being completed and a facility being built. Suddenly you have three different missions that are all top priority that you can't ignore, plus Dark Events going off and the main story mission drawing closer, half your best troops are wounded and now the other half are fatigued...it's just too much.

Maybe I'm a filthy casual. Maybe I just don't have the time and patience to juggle all of this at once. But while I was absolutely addicted to the first game and its expansion, I'm much less fond of the sequel for exactly this reason. It doesn't help that the missions have sudden, sharp difficulty spikes either, and that when you're in Iron Man mode (which allows just one auto-save point) you can easily find yourself in an almost unwinnable situation.

I guess I just never liked how hectic XCOM 2 was compared to its predecessor, and I feel maybe even a little more strongly about this with the expansion. More depth, more options, etc. also means more balls in the air.

I've been playing this at the same time as Mario + Rabbids, and what I love about that game in contrast to this one is how low-stress it is. Like I said, maybe I've just become a filthy casual, or maybe I just don't have the time these days to really devote myself to something this hardcore, but I kind of love how in Mario + Rabbids it's almost entirely about the battle tactics and you're not worrying about base management or keeping territories happy and there's no grim bald guy chastising you between missions.

Actually, I think I'd be happiest with a middle ground of some sort, wedged between the simplicity of Mario + Rabbids and XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. I don't necessarily want easier battles, but I would like less to manage in-between them. It feels like the game just bombards you with choices and keeps your resources so thin that any little mistake sends the whole thing spinning out of control. I beat XCOM 2, and I'm maybe eight hours into War of the Chosen, but so far I feel like the expansion adds a lot without streamlining enough (beyond target view.) That's not a bad thing necessarily---I'm sure lots of gamers love it just the way it is, and more power to you.

Xcom 2 Non Steam Mods

For me, something slightly less stressful and hectic would be more fun. But hey, that's just me. What do you think?