Long War 2 or War of the Chosen?

October 8, 2017 3:59 AM

Finishing up my first XCOM 2 campaign. If you've played both Long War 2 and War of the Chosen AND have a time machine, AND decide to use it to go back to when you finished your first vanilla campaign, which would you play as a follow-up?

I know Long War 2 is free, but I don't really want to sink a whole bunch of time into something that may end up being too grindy for me. I know that I eventually will buy War of the Chosen, but I'm wondering if Long War 2 will help me keep my wallet closed until there's a sale and be a satisfying experience. I know you can't get into my head, so I'm just looking for your personal opinions. Thanks!

posted by Ducks or monkeys to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (2 answers total)

Best answer: I have played both, but I'd need another time machine to really remember what LWII was like. (Actually I guess I still only need one time machine. Budget: saved!)

However, here I am so I'll give you my impressions anyway.

If you're at all worried about things being too grindy, that's a strong argument for WotC over LWII. As I recall, LWII tries to make the Geoscape game a little more simulationist and realistic, which is welcome. But as a result you have to do more management work and more repetitive tasks. In the battles themselves, the combination of larger squads and tougher enemies also slows things down. IMO it's kind of a slog to carefully advance a squad of 10, one at a time, with cover and overlapping sight lines and whatnot.

WotC is closer to the rhythms of XCOM2, with a lot of cool new stuff added in. I suppose there is a danger that this will be too familiar after just finishing a vanilla campaign, but I suspect the changes will be enough to draw you in.
posted by grobstein at 12:13 PM on October 8, 2017

Response by poster: Thanks! I was definitely leaning that way. Good to have confirmation.
posted by Ducks or monkeys at 3:22 AM on October 9, 2017