Despite being hampered by various in-game bugs and release woes, XCOM 2 has managed to solidify itself as an entertaining and addictive strategy game.
The added value of both XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2 has been that both games have a strong mod community behind them. Not only do these modders pour non-literal blood, sweat and tears into their work for our benefit, but some have even managed to form partnerships with Firaxis, the developer of both XCOM games.
That brings us to Long War Studios, the company behind the popular Long War mod for XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
The company had originally reached an agreement with Firaxis to provide several pre-launch and post-launch mods for XCOM 2. The pre-launch mods included: SMG-series Weapon Mod, Muton Centurion Mod and the XCOM leader mod. Each one of these provides a significant boost to the game's mechanics by adding a new enemy, a new set of weapons and a new set of perks.
Of course, Long War Studios were far from being done.
The companies latest release include two mods which make some pretty significant changes to the game.
The first is the Long War Perk Pack. This mod reworks the classes and perks, and adds new abilities and PCS items for the soldiers. Here are some more details:
If you want a more in-depth look, you can find out more about this mod on the steam page here.
- Choice of three perks per promotion rank instead of two
- More than 70 new and reworked Abilities that can be assigned to soldiers, gear or aliens
- Reworks the four base classes into seven, including the assault, gunner and shinobi, or create your own class
- Adds ten new PCS items, each granting a unique ability
- Support for more than 15 active abilities in the tactical UI
The other mod adds a new set of weapons similarly designed to the laser weapons from XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Titled "Long War Laser Pack", this mod does the following:
For a more in-depth look at this mod, you can find more details on its steam page.
- Adds a new laser tier of XCOM weaponry, which includes a new variant for the assault rifle, shotgun, cannon, sniper rifle, pistol and SMG, plus all attachments
- Mod includes models, textures, particle effects and sounds
- Tier exists between magnetic and beam tiers, with two new technologies
While the addition of these two mods should add a new level of enjoyment for XCOM 2 fans, the company has plans to provide more mods in the future. The fourth mod is called the "Alien Pack" and will add 10 new alien enemies to the game. The fifth and final mod is still being worked on and the details surrounding it have yet to be released.
What do you think? Do these new mods enhance the overall XCOM 2 experience?
