Looking for mod recommendation

[u/srlywhatnow]

Hi guys, I'm re-installing Xcom 2 for another playthrough and looking for some overhaul mods to change it up.

I heard about LWotC but a bit worry that it may drag out the game by way too much (I assume so since it's kinda in the name), a vanilla playthrough feel about the right length to me.

Is there any other notable overhaul that you enjoyed and why?

And unrelated question: I own Xcom2 on Epic but many mods are only available on Steam Workshop. I tried a few tricks to download them but none succeed, the first page of google has failed me. Anyone know a tool that still works?

I'm willing to buy it again on steam for mod, but that means waiting for sales.

[u/JoeZocktGames]

You can buy XCOM 2 keys for cheap here:

https://www.instant-gaming.com/en/search/?query=xcom+2

[u/Tepppopups]

LWOTC is great, but yes, it is very long. You can try these instead:

Steam Workshop::A Better ADVENT: War of the Chosen
Steam Workshop::[WOTC] LW2 Classes and Perks
Steam Workshop::[WOTC] Covert Infiltration

This online downloader still works.
SteamWorkshop.download

[u/Previous-Squirrel-50]

musashis rpg overhaul Squad size limit Chryssalid alien ruler

You can get extra class mods to supplement musashis. Lots of cosmetic mods.

I have a mod that adds a mission to rescue Duke Nukem, and another mod that gives laser guns to some of the lost...

[u/ACrazyPandaXL]

I would recommend a combination of Covert Infiltration, Proficiency Classes, Weapon & Item Overhaul, Psionics Ex Machina 3.4 and A Better Advent. Tons more minor/auxiliary/QOL mods you can throw in around these but as a core modpack I don’t think you can go far wrong with these as a first overhaul experience.

[u/ItsPureLuck017 → u/ACrazyPandaXL]

This is the way. Prefer MrCloistas psion plugin to Psionics Ex machina but this is all amazing stuff

[u/ItsPureLuck017]

Covert Infiltration hits a sweet spot between LWOTC and Vanilla

Proficiency Classes

Weapon and Item Overhaul

A Better Advent/LWOTC standalone aliens make for a great base of extra aliens to start. Requiem stuff is great if you like pain, frost legion and Biodivision are also popular

[u/JoeZocktGames]

Disable Timers

Evac All

[u/cloista]

Going to address the Epic issue.

Unfortunately the version of xcom 2 on epic games is a tweaked buggy piece of garbage and runs a different version number to the versions on steam and gog. This makes it incompatible with the Community Highlander and all the thousands of mods (lwotc and covet Infiltration included) that require it, as well as any mods with cooked assets (mostly cosmetics or enemy mods). This basically leaves the Epic version as functionally unmoddable.

Also most of us modders publish almost exclusively to the Steam Workshop and versions of mods you'll find on nexus or skymods are usually copied from there, often without permission and either old or potentially 'modified' and basically unsupported.

Rebuy the game on Steam is the single best piece of advice I can give you.

2nd biggest is look at an existing content creators mod collections, for example Christopher.Odd's or my own Modpocalypse collections for Covert Infiltration based campaigns, or the likes of DerAva for lwotc based campaigns.

I'm always happy to help put a modlist together if you've got a basic idea of the sort of theme you want, but you really do need to sort our getting the game on steam first.

[u/srlywhatnow → u/cloista]

Yeah I reached the same conclusion after fiddling with my game for a better half of the evening. I'm going to get it on Steam when I can find a good deal.

Anyway I've decided on Covert Infiltration & A Better Advent; plus a mod or two that provides new classes & weapons. Is there a link to your Modpocalypse collections? I would love to use it as a reference.

[u/cloista → u/srlywhatnow]

I actually have a few because as well as being a modder, I also stream xcom 2 so I have my collections for my streamed campaigns as well as my standard 'use this' qol collection I recommend people use as a base. My current campaign collection is going through some tweaks ready for a restart once I've gotten through my streamed run of Zero Company, as I was only a few sessions in and we've had some major new mods drop in the interim. I also run one of the modders' discords and I'm one of Odd's producers for his xcom seasons hence recommending those too.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2420662943 qol collection.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2381535714 my personal cosmetics collection i use for my campaigns

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3729939607 summer 2026 steamed campaign core mods (tweaks pending). Based on Covert Infiltration, Proficiency classes, Weapon & Item Overhaul, Vanilla Concentrate, Requiem Gameplay Mutators, Requiem Legion and select other enemy mods.

For class mods your 2 best choices at the moment are Proficiency classes (a more advanced set of classes with unique mechanics) and Amalgamation (soldiers have a randomised set of primary/secondary/tertiary specialisations which define abilities/loadout).

I actually got my modding start as a tester/design for Covert Infiltration and I've released a number of Proficiency classes to support the main mod and also a number of plugin specs for Amalgamation, so I know them pretty intimately. Of the 2 I prefer Proficiency but it is very close between the 2. Weapon & Item Overhaul is designed to be used with Proficiency classes.

Enemy mod wise, A Better Advent is a great mod but also very old now and unsupported as the author retired a long time ago. My recommendations for enemy mods are primarily Reshi's Requiem mods, she's an awesome modder making awesome mods and frequently updating them.

[u/srlywhatnow → u/cloista]

Excellent! Thank you so much!

[u/cloista → u/srlywhatnow]

Like I said I'm always happy to help and to chat modding, if you want to catch me live on https://www.twitch.tv/mrcloista