Immerse yourself in the captivating world of XCOM 2, where the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. Customize and enhance your gameplay with the transformative power of mods. From immersive graphics overhauls to groundbreaking gameplay mechanics, mods unleash a realm of possibilities, allowing you to tailor XCOM 2 to your heart’s desire. Join us on a journey through the best XCOM 2 mods, each carefully curated to elevate your gaming experience to extraordinary heights.
Step into a visually breathtaking XCOM 2 landscape as you explore the depths of graphical enhancement mods. The vibrant “Beaglerush Weapon and Armor Pack” infuses your arsenal with stunningly detailed weapons and armor, while the “Redesigned City Centers” mod transforms urban environments into sprawling metropolises teeming with life. For those seeking heightened realism, “Modern Combat Realism” grants you access to cutting-edge weapons and tactics inspired by modern warfare, immersing you in a gritty and immersive combat experience.
Beyond visual artistry, gameplay-enhancing mods introduce a myriad of captivating gameplay elements. “Long War 2” overhauls the campaign structure, introducing new challenges and strategies that will test even the most seasoned XCOM veterans. “A Better ADVENT” revitalizes the alien adversaries, imbuing them with enhanced AI and tactics, forcing you to adapt your strategies on the fly. “Gotcha Again” elevates the stealth gameplay, adding new mechanics and gadgets to enhance your reconnaissance capabilities, turning every mission into a thrilling game of cat and mouse.
Tactical Overhaul: Gameplay and Mission Modifiers
Gameplay Modifiers
[LWOTC]. “Long War of the Chosen,” a colossal mod that significantly overhauls the gameplay, adds new factions, updates the class system, and provides an unparalleled strategic and tactical challenge.
[A Better ADVENT]. Adjusts the AI and tactics of Advent enemies, making them more unpredictable, numerous, and challenging to face in combat.
[Gotcha Again]. Reintroduces the flanking bonus system from XCOM: Enemy Unknown, encouraging players to position their soldiers strategically and outmaneuver their opponents.
Mission Modifiers
[Enemy Within]. Randomizes the layout of both indoor and outdoor missions, ensuring that each playthrough provides unique and unexpected challenges.
[Fortress Defense]. Introduces a new mission type where players must defend an objective against waves of enemy forces, testing their strategic planning and defensive capabilities.
[Stop Wasting My Time]. Speeds up the pace of missions by reducing loading times and providing faster turn processing, resulting in a more seamless and engaging experience.
Mod Showcase
| Mod | Description |
|---|---|
| [LWOTC] | Long War of the Chosen: Overhauls gameplay, adds new factions, and provides a strategic challenge. |
| [A Better ADVENT] | Enhances enemy AI and tactics, making them more unpredictable and challenging. |
| [Gotcha Again] | Reintroduces the flanking bonus system from XCOM: Enemy Unknown, promoting strategic positioning. |
| [Enemy Within] | Randomizes mission layouts, ensuring unique challenges in every playthrough. |
| [Fortress Defense] | Introduces a new mission type where players defend an objective against waves of enemies. |
| [Stop Wasting My Time] | Accelerates mission pace by reducing loading times and speeding up turn processing. |
Customization Unleashed: Character and Cosmetic Tweaks
Tailor-Made Soldiers
XCOM 2 mods like “More Character Customization” and “Advanced Soldier Customization” empower you to create soldiers that match your unique vision. These mods expand the range of cosmetic options available, allowing you to personalize your squad’s hairstyles, facial hair, scars, and tattoos. You can also tweak their gear and equipment to suit your tactical preferences.
Diverse Aliens and Environments
Mods like “Alien Overhaul” and “Grimy’s Loot Overhaul” introduce a wide array of new alien designs and textures, enriching the visual experience of XCOM 2. These mods rework the appearance of existing enemies and add new varieties, making each encounter feel fresh and challenging. Additionally, mods like “Better Environments” enhance the game’s environments with more detailed textures and realistic lighting effects.
Weaponry Overhaul
If you seek to upgrade your arsenal, consider mods like “Extended Laser Sight” and “More Weapons.” These mods introduce new weapons and attachments, providing you with a wider range of options to customize your soldiers’ loadouts. From advanced lasers to unique rifles and explosives, these mods diversify the combat experience, allowing you to experiment with different strategies.
Advanced Gameplay Tweaks
Mods like “Improved AI” and “Better Aiming Angles” address specific gameplay mechanics, enhancing the overall experience. Improved AI introduces more aggressive and intelligent AI for both allies and enemies, making combat more challenging and rewarding. On the other hand, Better Aiming Angles provides soldiers with more precise control over their cover placement and aiming, making it easier to pull off complex maneuvers.
Bug Fixes and Stability Enhancements: Keeping XCOM 2 Running Smoothly
XCOM 2 is a complex and challenging game, and like any software, it is not immune to bugs and stability issues. Thankfully, the modding community has stepped up to provide a number of essential fixes and enhancements that can help keep your game running smoothly.
Performance and Optimization
Several mods aim to improve the game’s performance and optimization. The “Enhanced Performance Patch” addresses many memory leaks and performance issues, while the “Faster Game Load” mod significantly reduces loading times. Other mods, such as “Remove FoW Fog” and “Remove Volumetric Fog,” can improve performance by reducing visual clutter.
Bug Fixes
- High Burst Lasers: Adds support for AOE effects for High Burst Lasers, filling a gap in the game’s weapon arsenal.
- Improved Aggression: Adjusts AI behavior to make enemies more aggressive, creating more challenging encounters.
- Increased Squad Size: Allows players to create larger squads, up to a maximum of 10 soldiers.
- MEC Trooper Class: Introduces a new soldier class specializing in mechanical enhancements, providing a unique gameplay experience.
- No Lost and Abandoned: Removes the “Lost and Abandoned” mission, preventing a common game crash.
- Pepper Potts Codex: Replaces the Codex unit with a new, more formidable version inspired by the Marvel character.
- Precision Shot AI: Improves AI targeting behavior, making enemies more accurate and challenging.
- Project Restart: A comprehensive overhaul mod that changes almost every aspect of the game, offering a completely new experience.
Challenge and Difficulty Modifiers: Intensifying the Gameplay
Challenge and difficulty modifiers enhance XCOM 2’s already formidable gameplay by introducing additional layers of complexity and challenge.
True Concealment
True Concealment dramatically alters the stealth mechanics by making enemies more vigilant and granting them line of sight even when they are concealed. This forces players to plan their movements carefully and prioritize covert operations.
A Better ADVENT
A Better ADVENT overhauls the AI of enemy units, making them smarter, more aggressive, and better equipped. Enemies will utilize cover more effectively, prioritize high-value targets, and flank player units with greater frequency.
Increased Enemy Spawns and Health
These mods increase the number and toughness of enemy units, making engagements even more intense and challenging. Players must carefully manage their resources and prioritize targets to overcome the overwhelming odds.
Armor Overhaul
Armor Overhaul rebalances the armor system, making it more effective against ballistic weapons but less effective against energy weapons. This forces players to adapt their tactics and prioritize armor-piercing weapons.
AISpawner Tweaks
AISpawner Tweaks provides more control over enemy spawn rates and compositions, allowing players to customize the difficulty of each mission. They can increase the number of special units, such as Mutons or Archons, for a more challenging experience.
Battle Scars
Battle Scars introduces a persistent injury system where soldiers can sustain long-term injuries that impact their combat effectiveness. This adds an element of realism and forces players to consider the long-term consequences of their actions.
Precision Weapons
Precision Weapons overhauls the weapon system, introducing new weapons with unique capabilities, such as shotguns with increased spread or sniper rifles with reduced accuracy drop-off. This provides players with more tactical options and variety in combat.
Mission Overhaul
Mission Overhaul reworks the available mission types, adding new objectives and modifiers to keep the gameplay fresh and engaging. Players may encounter missions with time limits, increased enemy reinforcements, or unique environmental hazards.
War of the Chosen Reinforcement System
This mod implements the reinforcement system from the War of the Chosen expansion, allowing enemies to call for reinforcements during combat. Players must be prepared to handle the unexpected arrival of additional units and adapt their tactics accordingly.
Multiplayer Enhancements: Upgrading the Co-op and PvP Experience
1. Enhanced AI Framework
This mod overhauls the AI behavior, introducing a dynamic and adaptive system that responds to player strategies. It significantly enhances the challenge and immersion of multiplayer battles.
2. Co-op and PvP Tweaks
This mod offers a wide range of tweaks and adjustments to the co-op and PvP experience, including customizable settings, improved unit balancing, and enhanced mod compatibility.
3. Stop Wasting My Time
Streamlines multiplayer gameplay by eliminating unnecessary waiting time. It reduces the duration of animations and allows players to take turns simultaneously, speeding up the pace of battle.
4. Shen’s Last Gift Rebalanced
Adjusts the strength of the SPARK unit, balancing its combat capabilities to make it a viable option in multiplayer without being overpowered.
5. Multiple Lost Missions at Once
Unlocks the ability to deploy multiple Lost missions concurrently, enhancing the availability of resources and strategic options for players.
6. Mission Relay
Improves the coordination and communication between players in co-op missions by providing a dedicated relay channel for sharing information and coordinating actions.
7. Dedicated Server
Enables players to host dedicated multiplayer servers, improving stability and performance compared to P2P connections.
8. Skirmisher AI
Introduces advanced AI scripting for the Skirmisher class, making it more aggressive and intelligent in multiplayer battles.
9. Better AI Confidence
Modifies the AI’s confidence levels, resulting in more aggressive and risk-taking behavior from enemy squads, leading to more intense and unpredictable encounters.
10. Advanced Gameplay Options
Adds a range of customizable gameplay options, such as fog of war settings, squad composition restrictions, and adjustable match time limits, allowing players to tailor the multiplayer experience to their preferences.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Enable Fog of War | Toggle the fog of war setting, restricting players’ visibility of the map |
| Enforce Squad Composition | Limit the number of specific units that can be deployed in a squad |
| Adjustable Match Time Limit | Set custom time limits for multiplayer matches |
Best XCOM 2 Mods
XCOM 2 is a critically acclaimed strategy game that offers a deep and rewarding gameplay experience. However, there are a number of mods available that can enhance the game in various ways. Here are some of the best XCOM 2 mods:
- Long War 2: Overhauls the entire game with new classes, enemies, weapons, and gameplay mechanics. This mod is a massive undertaking that will add hundreds of hours of gameplay to XCOM 2.
- Grimy’s Loot Mod: Adds a variety of new loot items to the game, including weapons, armor, and other items. This mod is perfect for players who want to find more customization options for their soldiers.
- A Better ADVENT: Overhauls the ADVENT enemy faction with new units, abilities, and tactics. This mod makes the game more challenging and forces players to adapt their strategies.
- Gotcha Again: Adds a variety of new traps and environmental hazards to the game. This mod forces players to think carefully about their positioning and tactics.
People Also Ask
What are the most popular XCOM 2 mods?
The most popular XCOM 2 mods are Long War 2, Grimy’s Loot Mod, A Better ADVENT, and Gotcha Again.
What are the best mods for XCOM 2 performance?
There are a number of mods that can help improve the performance of XCOM 2, including Performance Plus, Remove Fog, and Disable Screen Effects.
What are the best mods for XCOM 2 gameplay?
The best mods for XCOM 2 gameplay include Long War 2, A Better ADVENT, Gotcha Again, and More Unit Abilities.
