XCOM 2

Each soldier normally has two actions in a turn. A short blue move leaves room for another action, while a longer yellow dash uses the whole turn. Cover matters: a half shield marks low protection and a full shield marks high protection. Many missions begin with your squad hidden; the red-eye marker warns that moving to a tile will reveal a soldier. Once a fight starts, a missed shot or exposed position can cost you a squad member permanently. The safest early habit is to read the mission objective and move one soldier at a time into good cover before ending the turn. Our beginner guide below shows the screen labels and the first decisions visually.

Between missions, the Avenger is where you manage the bigger campaign. In the Armory you can inspect and promote soldiers; Research unlocks new knowledge; Engineering turns materials into equipment. The Geoscape shows missions and resistance contacts around the world. Firaxis developed XCOM 2 and 2K published its original PC release in February 2016. Console releases and the War of the Chosen expansion followed later, so their features should not be confused with the base game at launch.