If thereвЂ™s an alien squad around the corner, you wonвЂ™t have the little red markers appear until you can see them вЂ“ by which time it might be too late. When youвЂ™re in Concealment, squares that will reveal you are marked in red, but only if you can see whatвЂ™s going to reveal you. Thankfully, itвЂ™s not a mini-game but another calculated gamble, much like every other decision you make. Hacking can become very, very useful later on, as some of the potential rewards are incredible. (And note that you can also do similar when enemy reinforcements are called in, simply by putting people in Overwatch near there.) I donвЂ™t think the game ever explicitly explains quite how it works, though. This gives you the chance to scout things out or start fights in your favour, and itвЂ™s a very, very useful little addition. In short: have your squad move into position while hidden, have someone pop off a shot, watch as the rest of your squad opens fire when the aliens run for cover. Better still, any Overwatch attacks set up during Concealment will not have aim penalties. Remember how, in XCOM, spotting enemies would instantly cause them to scatter and run for cover? Concealment stops that. Once you draw attention to yourself вЂ“ getting spotted by aliens, opening fire, walking under a surveillance camera, walking up to a civilian (you are technically a terrorist organisation, remember) вЂ“ then you lose Concealment. When you start most missions, the aliens wonвЂ™t be aware of your presence.

One of the new features for XCOM 2 is Concealment, and this is something you will want to master as soon as possible. Peter Parrish here wonвЂ™t stand for any of that bleeding out nonsense.

Armour diminishes all incoming damage by however many points of it you have. Confusingly, Health is whatвЂ™s generally increased by you outfitting your squads with better armour when this hits zero, theyвЂ™ll die or start bleeding out. It lets you reposition according to the situation, right up until the end of your turn, and thatвЂ™s a very good thing.ДЄlso, note that your soldiers and enemies can have both Armour and Health. You can move them closer, move them into more effective cover, or have them take a shot. TheyвЂ™re not stuck in Overwatch miles away. The advantage of doing this rather than spending both action points is that, if your third person comes across a group of enemies, you still have an action point spare on the first two soldiers. Everyone has two action points, but you donвЂ™t have to use both at once вЂ“ you can move one person with their first action point, then switch to a second person and move them, then switch to a third person and move them, etc. When youвЂ™re not actively in combat, try to stagger your squadвЂ™s movements. Cover, whether half-cover or full-cover, massively increases your chances of avoiding a hit. This isnвЂ™t always possible or desirable вЂ“ your RangersвЂ™ sword attacks might leave them exposed, or enemies with area-of-effect attacks might force a few people into the open вЂ“ but as a general rule, itвЂ™s one to follow. The most obvious is that you should try to end every turn with your soldiers in cover.

Nonetheless, most of the tactical fundamentals remain the same. Heading into combat zones with a small squad makes a bit more sense this time around, what with you being a tiny, underfunded guerrilla force rather than a global defence organisation.

Xcom 2 stuck in action cam