The gameplay mechanics of XCOM2 do not change drastically from its predecessor, but instead layer on new ones. Therefore, you may find the gameplay mechanics page from Gameplay Mechanics (EU2012) useful. This page will only provide information on mechanics that are unique to XCOM2. It is intended to be a one-stop summary of features for players of EU2012 to learn about the differences between the two in the game.

Battlescape Mechanics

The following are new mechanics introduced on the battlefield.

Hacking

Hacking is a new strategic layer in combat, allowing soldiers to perform actions related to objectives, to control/disrupt enemies, or to gain powerful equipment/resources on the field. By default, all soldiers must be adjacent to the object they intend to hack; the exceptions being Specialists and SPARK (Shen's Last Gift DLC). On top of this, an ADVENT Network Tower is only hackable by the mentioned two classes and the Reaper (War of the Chosen DLC). Hacking consumes one action and does not end the user's turn if it is their first action.

Hacking is a chance game, affected entirely by two main stats: the Hacking stat of the entity initiating the hack, and the Tech stat of the entity receiving the hack. Specialists are the only people who may increase their Hacking skill, by upgrading the quality of their GREMLINs. When a hack is initiated, a short cutscene ensues, revealing the options available. There are two main path that hacking continues from here, depending if the hack was compulsory (part of a major objective)

Compulsory hacks

If the entity being hacked is an objective (a terminal/computer), the completion of the objective is always guaranteed. Two options are then available - one easier and less rewarding, the other harder but substantially more rewarding. Choosing either of these will roll a chance roll and on a successful roll (the bar fills up past the green line), the reward is given. No negative effects will occur from failing the hack.

Non-compulsory hacks

If the entity being hacked is anything else (robotic enemies, network towers), then there is a feedback effect for failing the hack, usually providing a debuff to your squad or an advantage to the enemy. The benefits also differ - for example, the harder option for hacking a robotic enemy is usually controlling it for 2 turns, as opposed to the easier option being disabling the enemy.

Skulljack/Skullmining

With the invention of an item called the Skulljack, it is possible to hack specific non-robotic enemies to progress the main story. This requires an XCOM soldier to run up to an opponent and stab them, much like a Reaper melee attack with the hit chance fixed at 70%. Missing the attack does 2 damage and consumes one action point. A successful Skulljack hit is always lethal, regardless of the outcome of the hack. The process to hacking is otherwise no different, with different feedbacks and rewards available.

After an upgrade in the Proving Ground, the Skulljack can also be used to Skullmine ADVENT enemies. There is no functional difference between this and Skulljacking - only that Skulljacking progresses the story, while Skullmining is optional. View the section above on compulsory and non-compulsory hacks for information on those.

Concealment

Main article: Concealment (XCOM2)

Concealment is a new game mechanic which allows for stealth gameplay. As XCOM plays a guerilla-style organization in XCOM2, the majority of missions begin with the squad in concealment. While concealed, XCOM soldiers can move, spot and encounter enemy pods without triggering aggression or pod deployment. (the aliens will not begin moving behind cover) Many alien patrols will continue to move around slowly, while some will idle in the same position.

The mission will announce in the briefing (the scene where all your soldiers are in the ship) if the deployment is concealed or not. Certain missions may not, preventing concealment from being employed. The most common of these is ADVENT retaliation on resistance settlements.

While concealed, all XCOM soldiers gain a unique version of Overwatch. While using this variant of Overwatch, your soldiers will not make overwatch shots until your concealment is broken. The benefit of these shots do not carry the Aim penalty of regular Overwatch shots. This allows the player to setup ambushes, as breaking concealment will allow your soldiers to fire flanking shots on enemy pods that are deploying as they scatter to cover.

Methods of breaking Concealment

There are several main ways of breaking concealment:

Enemies have detection radii (which changes as they move), denoted by red cells with exclamation marks on them. Moving a soldier into any red cell breaks Concealment.
- As enemies move, so will their detection radii, potentially putting a soldier within their detection range. In this case, as long as the soldier is considered in cover to the detecting enemy, Concealment is preserved.
- Being flanked by any enemy while within their detection radius will always break concealment.
Breaking windows or kicking down doors (usually done by dashing while pathing through doors or windows) will immediately break concealment.
Attacking enemies or using most abilities and items will break concealment.
- There are item exceptions to this: the Battle Scanner (XCOM2), Medkit (XCOM2) and Proximity Mine (XCOM2) are examples.
- Several abilities are also exceptions, mostly those that provide some sort of passive, like the Ranger Run and Gun, Sharpshooter's Serial or Psi Ops' Inspire. Unique is that most of the Specialist abilities do not break concealment, except Haywire Protocol (see below)
Completing many major mission objectives may break Concealment.
Controlling an enemy that is within enemy detection (be it Psi Control or the Specialist's Haywire Protocol)

Combat Loot (Corpse Looting)

Enemies have a chance of dropping loot on death. This is denoted by a yellow square with a hand icon, and a number below it. The number denotes the number of turns an XCOM operative has to retrieve it before it self-destructs. The loot provided can be of varying types and quality, examples being weapon mods, PCS, Elerium Core, ADVENT Data Pad, Alien Data Cache or Chosen Information.

These items must be manually picked up - completed missions will not yield the items on the floor even if the mission does not evacuate. The items can be destroyed by tile effects (acid, fire), or explosions. Enemies that would've dropped loot will not drop any if they were killed by an explosive.[needs verification]

Evac Zones

In XCOM2, much like its predecessor, has missions where your squad must evacuate in fixed locations. The new addition to these is that XCOM soldiers are allowed to evac missions (except those fixed location missions) at any location of their choosing. This deploys a 3x3 blue square that when entered, grants the free Evac action (does not require an action point to use), allowing the soldier to leave the field.