Today, Firaxis has detailed the new soldier bonds mechanic that is being introduced to XCOM 2 in the War of the Chosen DLC, which releases August 29th for the PS4, Xbox One and PC.

XCOM 2 War of the Chosen Soldier Bonds

With the upcoming expansion, soldiers bonds will develop in the heat of battle and can now develop additional abilities for your units.

Every soldier has a compatibility level with each other and the higher the compatibility, the more likely they are to bond while on missions together. Furthermore, when a soldier rescues an unconscious mate from a mission or if more than half the squad is killed, the survivors will bond and their compatibility will rise a ton.

When 2 soldiers are about to bond you can see them hanging out on the Avenger, either getting a drink, practicing or more. Once they are bonded, they can’t bond with another soldier until one of them dies. Upon death however, the surviving bondmate may take it hard and suffer penalties but will eventually recover and be able to bond again.

Bonding gives some benefits when you send bonded soldiers into a mission together. You’ll get an additional action point, a bonus to aim depending on circumstances, cleared negative mental effects and even a dual strike combined attack.

Exhaustion and stress will be playing a role and you will have to give your soldiers a break between missions or they may suffer a lower Will and suffer some negative effects such as fear of certain enemies which results in panic on the battlefield.

The Training Center is a facility that can be built to enhance soldier bonds and spend AP to upgrade skills and abilities. The AP system is designed to be a direct result of smart play since you earn AP by making actions like flanking and shooting from height. With this you can now access more choices when deciding how to spec out your units, allowing you to select stuff you may have passed over already or choose from different class abilities, making every class more potent and flexible.

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