XCOM 2: The Chosen foes Assassin, Warlock and Hunter are the three big bads of the War of the Chosen expansion, each with a different approach to combat and a unique set of weapons and skills.

1. Xcom 2 Equip Chosen Weapons
2. Xcom 2 How To Use Chosen Weapons

One's a close-range assassin, another a Psionic warlock, and the third is a mid-range hunter. Here we explain how they appear in the game, how best to tackle them and their specific abilities and traits.

If you need more help, our XCOM 2 War of the Chosen guide provides a breakdown on how else you can tackle the huge expansion.

How The Chosen Assassin, Warlock and Hunter work in XCOM 2

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen represents a significant expansion to the base XCOM 2 game, adding a number of new mechanics and systems, soldier classes, enemies, game play decisions, and much more.

Having divvied up the world map between them, each Chosen has a region of control that means there's a chance they'll show up on any mission you conduct in that region.

Like SITREPs, this lends a degree of randomness to your campaign, but unlike SITREPs there's no chance that the appearance of The Chosen might make your life easier or grant you bonuses.

When a Chosen shows up, they'll harass you until either you've finished the mission objective or forced them to retreat by taking them down. In the meantime, they'll unleash their powers against you on top of whatever else you're dealing with during a mission.

However, the Chosen's primary goal is not to kill your soldiers outright. The Chosen are each out to prove themselves to the Elders by locating and taking back the commander, after you were freed from an Advent facility. As such, each Chosen as abilities that can daze your troops or render them unconscious and, from there, they'll look either to extract knowledge from your incapacitated solider before beating a tactical retreat or to take your soldier hostage.

This knowledge is used by the Chosen for a variety of goals from reducing the efficiency of the Resistance and disrupting your monthly supply drops through to tracking down the Avenger and launching a full scale assault upon it.

The good news, if there is good news when it comes to the Chosen, is that you can launch counter covert missions to find each Chosen's base of operations and eventually shut them down for good.

Doing so is a multi-part mission covert mission launched via the Resistance Ring, which requires relationships to be formed with each of the Reaper, Skirmisher and Templar factions. After committing soldiers to each covert operation, you'll unlock more info on the whereabouts of the Chosen, and once three of these covert missions have been undertaken you'll have the location of one of the Chosen bases to assault.

How to beat The Chosen Assassin, Warlock and Hunter in XCOM 2

Mounting an assault on the hidden bases belonging to each of three members of the Chosen is the only way to permanently put them down. Until each base is located and stormed, and the Chosen inside defeated, they will keep showing up on missions in their territory.

This results in them gaining knowledge of your activities, disrupting resistance plans, reducing monthly supplies and, ultimately, directing an assault on the Avenger (detailed in the Avenger Defence mission guide). Failing to take out each of the three Chosen prior to undertaking XCOM 2's final mission means any remaining Chosen will show up there, too.

Ultimately, then, conducting the three covert operations with each of the three new factions - Reapers, Skirmishers, and Templars - via the Resistance Ring, and then taking the fight to each of the Chosen in their home base is a must.

Once you do, the missions themselves are relatively straightforward.

• Each of the three Chosen missions is the same in structure and so the same effective strategies can be employed for each one.A Chosen base consists of two distinct parts: three to four self-contained rooms with a pod of enemies in each on the way to the Ascension Gate (a fancy name for a lift/elevator). Upon activating the Ascension Gate, you're taken to a separate area where you'll fight both regular enemies and the Chosen whose base you're storming.
• There's no time limit to the first part of the mission, prior to reaching the Ascension Gate, so take your time. Clear one room at a time, then reload and gather your troops before tackling the next room

• Upon reaching the Ascension Gate, ensure all soldiers are standing on it before activating it. Any left behind will return to the Avenger, and will be unavailable for the next section: the fight with the Chosen.
• After activating the Ascension Gate, you'll be in a single large room where the final showdown will begin.
• There's still no time limit here, but there will be a couple of enemies to the left or right of the room, so scout them out and take them down without moving too close to the far end of the room, where a large, rectangular structure stands. Venturing too close to this (about two-thirds of the way up the room) will trigger the Chosen to arrive, and it's better to have taken care of the regular enemies before this happens.
• This rectangular structure is actually a sarcophagus that heals the Chosen, hence whey they are able to keep showing up on your missions even after you've taken them out.
• Your goal here is to reduce the Chosen's health to zero, forcing it back inside the sarcophagus and then destroy the sarcophagus before the Chosen's health has fully regenerated.
• Once the sarcophagus is reduced to zero health, the Chosen will appear once more on the next enemy turn for a final showdown. The quicker you can destroy the sarcophagus, the less healing the Chosen will have benefited from. This is indicated by a timer that counts up the Chosen's health regeneration in multiples of 20%.

• While the Chosen is healing, enemies will spawn from the square pads in either side of the room. The primary goal here is to destroy that sarcophagus as soon as possible and then take out the Chosen. Killing the Chosen will result in a successful mission, regardless of any other enemies left in the room.
• Use the same strategies as you have when facing the Chosen before. Taking note of their strengths, weaknesses and adversary. Ideally, take note of these as they appear throughout the game so that you're clued-up as to which types of soldiers are a must for the mission when you come to assault the Chosen base.
• Once defeated, you'll be treated to a cinematic that reveals more about that particular Chosen's backstory, and you'll receive some cool new weapons.
• Each group of weapons - Assassin's, Warlock's, and Hunter's - will need to be researched by Dr Tygan's team aboard the Avenger. Once that is complete you will have access to one of each type of weapon (detailed elsewhere in this guide).
• Remember, the exact enemies in each base may change but the structure and approach remains the same. Happy hunting!

You read more specific advice for each Chosen enemy below.

Assassin, Warlock and Hunter abilities, traits and weapon rewards

Like many of the elements of War of the Chosen, the specific attributes and traits of the Chosen themselves are randomly selected from a pool of many. They each have strengths and weaknesses, ensuring that while they offer a distinct challenge unique to one another and to all other enemies, none of them feel overpowered.

The Chosen: Assassin
Combat type: Stealth and close-quarters
Abilities:

• Can enter concealment at will, rendering her invisible until she reveals herself or your soldiers get very close to her position.
• Sword attacks that are guaranteed to hit and daze. Dazed soldiers can be interrogated by the Assassin, or taken hostage.
• Can unleash a Psionic wave from a distance to hit and daze soldiers in her line of sight.

Specific advice for defeating:

• The Assassin's sword attacks daze victims, are undodgable and cannot be countered by overwatch or other forms of reaction fire. Keep your soldiers within touching distance of one another so that they can revive each other from daze.
• Avoid placing your soldiers too close together, or in a line. The Assassin's Harbour Wave is a long range Psionic attack that will hit all soldiers in a straight line.
• Once the Assassin has appeared, take her down as quickly as possible by exploiting her randomly assigned weaknesses. She is the deadliest of the three Chosen and will deal the most direct damage to your troops, as well as taking soldiers out of the fight one by one with her daze attacks.

Weapons gained through defeating her at her hideout:

Arashi Shotgun (Ranger-only)

• Damage: 8-10
• Clip Size: 7 (with built-in Superior Expanded Magazine)
• Critical Chance: +25% (with built-in Superior Laser Sight)
• Bonus Action Chance: +15% (with built-in Superior Hair Trigger)
• Missed Shot Damage: +3 (with built-in Superior Stock)

Katana Blade (Ranger-only)

Xcom 2 Equip Chosen Weapons

• Damage: 8-9
• Armour Pierce: 5
• Katana attacks cannot miss or be dodged, and ignore 5 points of armour.

The Chosen: Warlock
Combat type: Psionic and long-distance
Abilities:

• Can summon spectral zombies that move to surround soldiers and explode on next turn, or when killed.
• Can use Psionic powers to mind control soldiers.
• Capable of summoning a spectral army of two melee attackers. The Warlock remains invulnerable while these attackers are active.

Specific advice for defeating:

• Depending on where the Warlock spawns on a mission, he is the Chosen most likely to keep his distance. His ability to summon spectral zombies is a nuisance but a manageable one.
• Spectral zombies come in a pair and will look to move towards and surround the nearest soldier, boxing them in if possible. They will then prime themselves to explode on the next turn. They will also explode when they are killed. Ensure you give your soldiers a chance to escape by not taking cover in a corner after the Warlock as entered the fray.
• The Warlock's spectral army ability summons two melee zombies that will actively attack soldiers. While they are active, the Warlock is impervious to any and all damage. Take them down in order to harm him further or, if you're soldiers are in a rough place, use this opportunity to complete your objective and evacuate the mission area.

Weapons gained through defeating her at her hideout:

Disruptor Rifle (Ranger, Specialist, and Psi-Operative only)

• Damage: 7-11
• Clip Size: 7 (with built-in Superior Expanded Magazine)
• Critical Chance: +15% (with built-in Superior Laser Sight)
• Bonus Action Chance: +15% (with built-in Superior Hair Trigger)
• Missed Shot Damage: +3 (with built-in Superior Stock)
• The Disruptor Rifle is guaranteed to critically hit Psionic enemies.

The Chosen: Hunter
Combat type: Highly-mobile and mid-range
Abilities:

• Grapples around the map, remaining just out of reach.
• Uses area of effect concussion grenades, or a tranquiliser shot to render soldiers prone to abduction.
• Targets soldiers with a tracking shot, giving them one turn to break line of sight before the hunter takes his shot.

Specific advice for defeating:

• Don't group soldiers too closely together, the Hunter has a concussion grenade that can daze any soldiers caught in its blast radius.
• The Hunter's Tranq Shot will daze a single soldier, ripe for interrogation or abduction. Be sure to revive them on the same turn that they are dazed to avoid the Hunter preying on them.
• When the Hunter uses Tracking Shot, you can use this to your advantage to maximise your attacks against him. Once activated, he'll stay where he is for one turn and while he may be perched in a hard to reach spot you can seize this opportunity to locate and eliminate him.

Weapons gained through defeating her at her hideout:

Darklance Sniper Rifle (Sharpshooter only)

• Damage: 8-10
• Clip Size: 3
• Critical Chance: +10%
• Aim: +15% (with built-in Superior Scope)
• Bonus Action Chance: +15% (with built-in Superior Hair Trigger)
• Free Reloads: +3 (with built-in Superior Auto-Loader)
• Missed Shot Damage: +3 (with built-in Superior Stock)
• Unlike other sniper rifles, the Darklance only costs one action to fire.

If you need more help with XCOM 2's expansion, our XCOM 2: War of the Chosen guide and tips can explain everything you need to know, from how to beat The Chosen Assassin, Warlock and Hunter and the new The Lost, Spectre and Advent units. Combat them by learning about each new faction with our Reaper abilities and skill tree, Skirmisher abilities and skill tree and Templar abilities and skill tree pages, as well as learning about the new Challenge Mode, Resistance Ring, Ability Points, Fatigue and Bonds systems. Good luck, Commander!

Typically, each Chosen will begin with two negative traits in the form of one weakness and one adversary. The adversary for each of the Assassin, Hunter and Warlock Chosen will be either the Reaper, Skirmisher or Templar class.

The Chosen will take additional damage from these adversaries and deliver some interesting and revealing trash talk to them during the missions, which begin to point to where the Chosen might have originated from.

Each Chosen's weakness, on the other hand, will be randomly assigned from a group that includes taking increased damage from close range, or from explosives, or if they are attacked more than three times in a single turn. In each case, it's something that requires you to approach them in a specific way in order to maximise your damage against them.

Their strengths, on the other hand, are many and varied. These include an immunity to melee damage, the ability to summon a specific enemy type (such as mutons, ADVENT soldiers or robotic enemies), healing health when their allies take damage, not triggering overwatch shots and many more.

This random mix of strengths and weaknesses makes the method for fighting the Chosen largely dependent on their unique combination of traits. However, being prepared for their abilities can also help keep you out of harms way when they do, inevitably, show up.

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The war to save humanity in XCOM 2 is a tough one, and victory is impossible without your soldiers. They are your first and only line of defence, sabotaging ADVENT activities in guerrilla raids, protecting civilians from retaliation, and acquiring intelligence regarding the alien threat.

Each soldier in XCOM 2 can specialise in one of four classes (plus some advanced builds from the War of the Chosen expansion), and it can be hard to navigate the nuances of each individual class given the options you have. Luckily, we've put hundreds of hours into the game at this point, so we're here to share with you some of the best strategies and biggest no-nos of each XCOM 2 class build.

Ranger Build Guide

The Ranger serves as the primary reconnaissance unit, capable of moving independently in concealment while engaging enemies at close range using firearms and melee weapons. Definitely the most versatile class in the game, Rangers can either be a devastating spectre of death striking from the shadows, or a swift ninja capable of cutting enemy hordes down.

Rangers can attack adjacent enemies with their sword even after using both actions to move or dash, extending their attack range. Different aliens react in different ways to melee attacks; Sectoids take +3 damage from all sword/melee attacks, while some enemies like Muttons counter Ranger melee strikes, fully avoiding damage and hurting your soldier instead. A couple more things to keep in mind:

• Due to the Rangers' unique ability to recon and flank enemies even after the squad is engaged, there is always a strong possibility that he/she may get caught out by a roaming patrol. Units with 'Phantom' begin the mission in concealment even when the squad doesn’t, so watch out they don't get caught alone behind enemy lines.

• If an enemy attempts to attack a Ranger that has 'Bladestorm', and is within melee range, it will activate before the enemy attack. Further still, when ADVENT reinforcements drop next to a Ranger, Bladestorm activates before they can react. It will also activate upon a Viper successfully using its Constrict ability after pulling the Ranger, and allows them to kill the Viper even while constricted. However, a Ranger with Bladestorm that panics will attack allies as well when they come into melee range, so keep that in mind when things go south to prevent friendly fire.

• A Ranger is the only soldier capable of reaching or even surpassing a 100% Critical Hit chance. Other classes cannot use shotguns and only have a small chance of getting the Shadowstrike skill from the Advanced Warfare Center, giving the Ranger 45% more chance of landing Critical Hits.

• Nearly all missions with task and evac goals can be solo'd entirely by Rangers using the Conceal Skill and some simple, stealthy hit and run tactics.

• Implacable can activate after 'Run and Gun', granting a total of 4 moves in a single turn.

• A Ranger may seem like a good choice to carry a Skulljack as it naturally fits with the Ranger's normal skill set, but its lower hack score compared to the Specialist means you should look at Skulljacking instead of Skullmining.

Grenadier Build Guide

Serving as demolitions experts, the Grenadiers provide heavy ordnance delivery whenever and wherever is needed it. Carrying rockets and grenades, the Grenadier is arguably the most versatile and useful all-rounder to have in a squad, and their ability to affect the environment and deal guaranteed explosive damage often means the difference between life and death.

The first and most important decision when it comes to Grenadiers is which role you want them to have. If you're going the offensive role, we advise you take 'Shredder' instead of 'Blast Padding'. Shredder is a proactive skill which allows you to dictate the terms by which you attack, while Blast Padding is a reactive skill, softening the damage when you are forced to take it. Given the possibility of panicking as well as the time it takes to recover from wounds, it is preferred that soldiers don't get hit in the first place. While Blast Padding can be highly useful for tanking when combined with a high dodge stat, the Shredder is particularly effective for taking down armoured targets quickly. Shooting with the Grenadier first to knock out armour before opening fire with other units is a great way to kill armoured enemies, and it can pair with 'Holo-Targeting' as well, knocking out armour and providing an aim bonus for other soldiers to finish the enemy off.

As you decide which role your Grenadier is going to perform, you must also choose their tool of trade. If you're going the heavy weapons route instead of explosives, you might need some terrain shaping skills like the 'Demolition', which is a good alternative to grenades for destroying cover. It is more risky than the same level skill 'Suppression'; if the enemy whose cover is destroyed can't be killed in the same turn, they will just move to different cover and fire back. In addition, some cover is indestructible or can only be damaged instead of completely removed, rendering Demolition useless in some situations. Also keep in mind the accuracy calculation of this skill adds +10% to hit chance but ignores any scope mod, so hitting might be a problem.

As the Grenadier naturally has low aim, you need make sure to focus on aim bonuses and mods if you plan to hit anything with your weapon. 'Hail of Bullets' can help offset Grenadier's naturally low aim, and it offers a counter to enemies with high innate defence (such as Gatekeepers) who can often be very difficult to hit. It also goes well with Shredder -- as a guaranteed armour hit is usually reserved for grenades only -- and quite useful when dealing with entrenched enemies. And since many Grenadier abilities consume two or three shots instead of one, make sure to equip expanded magazines or speed reload mods to counteract the ammo drain. Besides that:

• Suppression is effective for stopping dangerous enemies from attacking the squad, and multiple Grenadiers can effectively lock down an enemy with an aim penalty of -100 since the ability stacks with itself. In addition, Suppression is guaranteed to remove Overwatch and can be paired with Holo Targeting for an aim bonus on top of its basic effects.

• Heavy Ordnance is great if you use your Grenadier primarily for their... well, grenades. It works well against enemies who like to fight from cover, and allows you to worry less about rationing explosives. It also gives you a good tactic to get rid of those pesky high Dodge targets, against whom guaranteed damage is often more important than raw hit probabilities.

• Holo-Targeting's aim bonus triggers on every shot and is applied regardless of whether the attack hits or misses, which is quite useful as an opening attack against high-defence targets like Archons. It can be combined with Shredder and either Hail of Bullets or Rupture for an absolutely devastating opening salvo which gives the squad a much better chance of killing dangerous targets like Sectopods or Gatekeepers on the turn which they are encountered.

• Volatile Mix's bonus to each grenade is substantial, and when combined with the Advanced Grenade Launcher often allows you to hit multiple packs of enemies with a single grenade. It is specially interesting when combined with speciality grenades such as Flashbangs, due to their low/non-existent damage.

• Salvo is extremely useful at times, since it allows Grenadiers to fire two grenades in one turn, or one grenade and then act. it's a slightly more defensive ability, as it requires the Grenadier to remain stationary in order to have any use of the ability, but synergies very well with ambushes. If you open with this, it guarantees enemies will be in the open for follow-up or Overwatch shots.

• Rupture is a crucial skill for Grenadiers who want to be able to take down single targets. When combined with Shredder and/or Holo-Targeting, Rupture also guarantees a critical hit (but keep in mind the extra potential damage is not shown during previews).

• Saturation Fire's cone of effect is extremely narrow, limiting use against multiple targets unless they are almost in a straight line from the Grenadier. In addition, it doesn't trigger Holo-Targeting and is not even guaranteed to hit enemies or destroy cover in the cone of fire.

Specialist Build Guide

Operating some of the most advanced equipment XCOM has to offer, Specialists deploy robotic drones on the battlefield that can be outfitted for combat or field medic duty, and are capable of providing amazing support to the rest of the squad. In addition, their unique ability to hack robotic units helps deal with those overpriced tincans that plague the late game.

The Specialist is especially adept as a support role, able to enhance the capabilities of the squad and provide amazing covering fire. If you use Threat Assessment on a Specialist with the 'Guardian' skill, this will usually grant you three or more overwatch shots in a single turn. Besides that, giving another soldier Threat Assessment before they open fire as part of an overwatch ambush will result in said soldier firing again after the squad loses concealment. That's two shots from one person in an overwatch ambush! Some other notes:

• Due to their naturally high hacking score, Specialists make good candidates for carrying Skulljacks. The extra hack boost from Skullmining also benefits them greatly.

• Hacking an ADVENT Network Tower or a mission objective only consumes one action point and will not end your turn. However hacking a robotic enemy with 'Haywire Protocol' does end the turn, as does 'Combat Protocol' and 'Capacitor Discharge'.

• Combat Protocol and Capacitor Discharge both bypass armour. They do not apply a damage bonus to robotic enemies that are hacked with 'Haywire Protocol', either.

• Robotic enemies (such as MECs) hacked with 'Haywire Protocol' cannot act on the first turn of being hacked, but they can act on the first turn after hacked ends. However, ADVENT Turrets can act on the first turn of both situations. Keep in mind robotic enemies hacked with 'Haywire Protocol' do not need to be destroyed to complete a mission that requires all enemy units to be eliminated, but you don't receive their wrecks if they are still in operating condition.

Xcom 2 How To Use Chosen Weapons

• Aid Protocol, Medical Protocol and Scanning Protocol each only consume a single action and will not end your turn. However, Restoration does end the turn.

• Aid Protocol cannot be used twice on the same target.

• Ever Vigilant will trigger so long as you do not consume an action point with an action other than moving; it will trigger from skipping your turn, moving once, moving 3+ times, opening/closing as many doors as you like, or moving twice after using a free reload.

Sharpshooter Build Guide

Just like it sounds, sharpshooters engage enemy targets with pinpoint accuracy from extreme range. They're also trained in pistol marksmanship for the occasional close encounter. A staple of any squad, a good sharpshooter can finish off powerful enemies or take out aliens before they get close enough to hurt your soldiers.

Curiously, sharpshooters can also excel at close range when following the Gunslinger tree, which includes abilities that help the squad clear a whole block of enemies in one turn. Quickdraw has no cooldown, and Faceoff grants a pistol shot on every visible enemy and has no upper limit on the total amount of shots it can make, and it's an excellent way to use special ammo due to the sheer amount of targets available. Lightning Hands is a free action/pistol shot against anything within range, working well for both specialisation trees; for a Sniper, 'Lightning Hands' allows the sharpshooter to weaken or finish off a nearby enemy before sniping them, or even shoot another target altogether. Giving 'Gunslingers' special ammo types severely augments their usefulness, with 'Faceoff' acting as an effective crowd control skill, limiting enemy actions and -- in the case of Dragon rounds setting them on fire -- stopping enemy melee attacks altogether. Using 'Lightning Hands', shooting normally with 'Quickdraw' and finishing the turn with 'Faceoff', allows a sharpshooter to potentially clear a whole screen of enemies alone.

Regardless of which tree you pick, in most cases one should pick Steady Hands instead of Aim. 'Steady Hands' does not take this turn's movement into account, making it useful for all sharpshooters. And unlike 'Aim', which only affects the first shot of a turn, 'Steady Hands' affects all shots, and it does not require the sharpshooter to not have made an attack last turn. Besides that, keep in mind:

• Deadeye's aim penalty is 25%, not a direct -25, meaning it differs per target. As such, this powerful skill is not very reliable until the drop can be compensated. Like 'Deadeye', Fan Fire scales up very well with upgraded equipment,as it can potentially deal up to triple normal damage to an enemy. Unlike 'Deadeye', however, 'Fan Fire' is a pistol skill and only requires one action point, allowing it to combo with Death From Above and Quickdraw and makes it more viable for both full Gunslingers and mixed sets. 'Fan Fire' can also benefit heavily from special ammo, just like 'Faceoff'.

• Kill Zone activates once every movement, meaning it activates once if the enemy dashes, but twice if the enemy moves twice, or move and attack. Melee attacks, however, count as part of movement and only trigger one shot. 'Kill Zone' also does not require Long Watch in order to take reaction shots against enemies in squadmates' line of sight, giving you two skills for the price of one.

• Serial returns the sharpshooter's actions when they make a kill with their sniper rifle, rendering it very useful when snipers have multiple enemies in sight at low HP. While it does allow you to take them all down, when using the skill one should keep in mind that every kill made by the sniper effectively results in wasted experience from killing enemies.

• Long Watch allows you to activate enemy pods during the enemy turn, when the Sharpshooter is not concealed but a phantom Ranger can see the enemies.

• Due to the fact that the Sniper Rifle requires both actions to fire, reloading will be a heavy burden on snipers, often making them have to skip an entire turn of combat. Weapon mods such as expanded clips and the Auto-Loader are invaluable to sharpshooters. Similarly, 'Kill Zone' only activates as long as the sniper rifle has ammo, making it more effective in conjunction with expanded magazine mods. Similarly, Squadsight reduces it's accuracy with distance and the Sniper Rifle gets less accurate at close ranges, so consider using a Scope weapon mod.

• Death From Above activates only on kills, and then only if made from higher elevation. In addition, it doesn't allow the second action to be another shot with your sniper rifle, meaning you can only relocate, reload, or use the pistol.

Templar Build Guide (War of the Chosen)

This melee-focused class is War of the Chosen’s buffed up version of the Ranger, able to quickly weave through the battlefield and uppend enemies with a Psi Blade.

Templars are damage dealers in nature, capable of dealing with most threats at close-range and affecting the battlefield with their unique abilities.

• Rend attacks give Templars the Momentum ability, allowing them to perform an extra move, allowing you to dash towards an enemy, melee them, and them move again.

• Because Templars gain Focus on 'Rend' kills, players should let them deal killing blows on weaker targets in order to boost their 'Focus'.

• A Templar with the Reaper chain-melee skill from the Training Centre can gain multiple refunded action points when killing enemies with the Arc Wave area of effect skill.

• Rend is a guaranteed hit, but it still can be partially dodged by Vipers and and Stun Lancers and cause less than full damage. It also doesn’t prevent a Muton’s counter, which can leave your Templar stunned and open to an instant execution.

• The autopistol can perform headshots and does not need to be reloaded.

• The Parry ability negates all damage from a shot or melee attack, but it does not block area of effect damage or skills.

• The Training Centre’s Fortress skill makes Templars immune to nearly all environmental damage, giving them more mobility and allowing them to melee kill even enemies that might explode upon death, like Sectopods or ADVENT Purifiers.

• The Bladestorm melee counter Training Centre skill synergises well with Parry, allowing Templars to easily dispatch groups of melee enemies. Templar melee attacks always hit, except the target is a Spectre with 'Lightning Reflexes' (in which case, you’re screwed).

• However, while the damage dealt is still affected by Focus, Bladestorm on a Templar won’t activate the Arc Wave nor generate Focus on kills.

• The Pillar cover-summoning ability can be used as the first action without ending the turn, and lasts for a number of turns equal to the Templar's Focus level when activated.

• Stun Strike can be used to knock enemies out of cover or high places, causing fall damage.

• The Channel skill is squadwide, meaning even kills by other squad members can generate Focus. This gives a 20% chance of enemies dropping Psionic energy when dying (Psionic enemies have a 50% chance).

• The Ionic Storm ignores armour, and deals double damage to Psionic enemies. It also generates focus with kills, so it can refund all Focus spent if it kills enough enemies.

• Unlike 'Stasis', units trapped by the Void Conduit can be attacked. The stun lasts for a number of turns equal to the Templar's Focus level when activated.

• The 'Ghost' duplicate has the exact same abilities as the Templar, except for the autopistol. Movement and Hunker Down do not cost Focus to use, nor do reflexive abilities like Bladestorm, Deflect, and Reflect. The Templar Ghost does not share cooldowns with the Templar, and temporary boosts and debuffs are copied when the Ghost is generated.

Skirmisher Build Guide (War of the Chosen)

This War of the Chosen ranged class is all about damage, being able to fire its gun twice on every turn.

Skirmishers are better suited to hit and run tactics, able to deal a lot of damage before quickly moving position again.

• Whiplash is a free action, and deals double damage against robotic units.

• All Ripjack attacks and abilities only cost one turn and do not end the turn if used as the first action. Reckoning allows Skirmishers to dash attack an enemy with the 'Ripjack', but still only costs one action.

• Like armour grapples, the Skirmishers grapple doesn't cost an action and can be used to escape enviromental hazards like fire or gas.

• Retribution works exactly like the Ranger's 'Bladestorm' ability, allowing the Skirmisher to automatically attack any enemies that enter melee range.

• The buffed-up overwatch skill Battlelord does not trigger on movement or reloading.

• Opening an ambush with Justice or Wrath stops the targeted enemy from moving when concealment is broken.

Reaper Build Guide (War of the Chosen)

As the special sniper/scout build introduced in War of the Chosen, Reapers allow players to scout enemy positions and take them out without ever breaking concealment.

They are perfectly suited for sabotage or infiltration missions, as they can only be detected from close range and can remain concealed even when shooting at enemies.

• Shadow Concealment’s reveal chance starts at 0%, increasing to 50%, 80%, and 100% on subsequent shots. Reveal chance is reset if re-entering 'Shadow Concealment' through the Shadow or Distraction talents.

• The Silent Killer skill makes the first shot undetectable if it kills the target. As changes to Reaper concealment chance take place after a shot is fired, the skill allows a Reaper to stay concealed indefinitely as long as it kills all its targets with one shot.

• Firing the Claymore only costs a single action, and does not break concealment. Claymores can be detonated by any type of damage, so throwing a grenade on top of one can be a great way to deal extra damage or start an ambush.

• Units hit with the Homing Mine will always be hit when shot at, regardless of percentage.

• The Homing Mine does not replace the Claymore, but they share the same charges.

• Using the Remote Start skill on large objects such as buses produce a very wide explosion that’s stronger than most other explosive (watch out for civilians or friendlies).

• The Soul Harvest skill helps offset the Reaper's natural +0 critical chance.

• Banish can be combined with Extended Magazines and Superior Repeaters for maximum effectiveness. The skill reveals the Reaper before any shots are fired, so negating any bonuses from the 'Silent Killer' or 'Needle' talents.

• Reapers cannot carry any equipment by default, but the Tactical Rigging talent from the Training Centre allows them to carry a single item.

• The Training Centre’s 'Shredder' ability can be used in conjunction with the 'Needle' skill, bypassing and shedding armor at the same time.

• Thanks to its unique form of stealth, it is very easy to use a solo reaper to deal with any mission requiring you to go in, interact with an objective, and get out. A good example of this is missions that require you to sabotage alien facilities.

What do you think? Did these tips give you new ideas to assembling your squad? Do you have any specific class advice we missed? Let us know in the comments below!

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