Oh, really?
Why would it not work iwith LWOTC?
Thanks for your answer!

This is the mod version for pre-WotC XCOM2. For something that works with the current version of the game + DLC check here: https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1126623381

It will however not work with LWOTC.

@DerBK also, I see several versions of your mod, is this one the one <I should get?

Hello! It'es been a while I want to test your mod but Im so comitted in my campaign rigth now (100+ hours on LWOTC with RPGO on legend , and so much work done on my crew..)

Is it safe to add mid - campaign?
Doest it run well with LWOTC?
Is there any mods that you higlhy recommand NOT to play with ABA ?

Thanks for your time and for your work

The trick with the Sectopod Prime (and other Primes in general) is giving them a distraction to shoot at with their reactions. That can be a mimic beacon, but a hunkered down soldier can draw fire in a similar way. And of course to consider in which order you use your soldiers so you don't end up flanked by the Sectopod moving during your turn.

It is dangerous for sure, but it's supposed to be!

Honestly Love this mod now this might have been something i did to myself yet i still think this is really unbalanced but the Sectopod Prime in my opinion is a little too broken/OP in one match it wiped out my entire squad because i wasn't able to kill it before end of my turn so if i were to give any criticism it would be to de-buff it to a point where it just doesn't kill your entire squad instantly cause it has caused me great pain and suffering and made it so i just had to end a mission because when i met it mission would just end with my whole squad dead

The mod makes the game more difficult near the end with the introduction of Prime Enemies that will get bonus actions whenever they are hurt. This is to make the endgame more interesting. By that point you should have tier 3 weapons already to deal with them though.

So there is an element to the mod where it increases difficulty at the end, but not necessarily just through pod size numbers.

As of XCOM Wiki the Veteran aim is multiplied by 1.1 while Commander not. But from my feeling it is more like +50% difference, as I already wrote.

I was asking because the base game have so called "reverse difficulty curve", if you do everything right, choose correct strategies, ignore what Bradford says to do :) the game becomes easier later on.

What about this mod as I've seen your post where the pod sizes increase as the game progresses. So if the game will increase difficulty, it's OK I stay on easy, if it becomes easier, I can choose more challenging option at beginning.

So I will not have to quit the campaign and start over just because the game become much more difficult than it was at the beginning.

What to expect?

Your hit chances don't depend on difficulty except in very few cases where enemies have native defense that scales with difficulty (Vipers, maybe).

As for your dilemma, not sure that anyone can answer this one for you. This is one of the core challenges with modding a game, especially when you use mods from various different creators that were not developed as a package... you have to put together your own difficulty setting and have to find something that works for you. That might take a few tries before you get it right.

Difficulty dilemma!

I'm using these mods to compensate increased difficulty and enemy count, as the mod devs recommended: 1. Larger Starting Squad (6) and 2. Configurable Mission Timers (+8).

My previous attempt on Commander difficulty failed after three missions because it was too difficult, lot of losses, no money, skipped missions, etc. I didn't want to continue this campaign and started a new one on Veteran. And immediately felt that it's too easy - the shot percentages drastically increased from under 50% up to 75%, base Advent trooper health decreased from 4HP +1armor to plain 3HP - one hit with regular rifle. It looks way too easy, but probably will increase later on, I don't know what to expect.

Now I'm thinking what to do - continue with Veteran and expect that the game will become more challenging, or start a new Commander campaign with some more compensations like starting squad 7, additional timers and so?

ABA and ABAI were always developed in tandem, so if i implemented something into the AI in one mod, the other one got it as well.

Does ABA2 have additional AI changes that ABA1/ABI don't have? If so, do you plan on publishing a "A Better AI 2" with those changes?

Actually it is, at least for this game. Once you include modded enemies the game expects them to be available, and incudes them in upcoming missions. If you remove the mod afterwards this causes crashes because the game is looking for data and assets that are not there anymore.

No, that's totally not normal. Just write it down in the description.

That's normal for all mods that add something new to the game, that is really not worth mentioning. ABA is a complete enemy overhaul, not just a cosmetic hat for your soldier.

WHY is this mode NOT disabled once it's activated? You should've write it down in the description. Now I can't play my saved files through without it anymore, even after I deleted the whole mod files. It just crash all the time.

Thank you! Currently playing WotC with ABA: WotC and ABC PLUS. Love your mods!

Okay, let's start from the beginning. Are you playing XCOM2 without War of the Chosen? Because if you do have WotC, then there is its own mod for that, too.

Next, you can't switch from ABA to ABA2 midcampaign. Too much was changed between the two versions of the mod. You'll have to start a new campaign. After unsubbing from ABA1 and subbing to ABA2, please follow these instructions , just to be safe.

Mod files are found in the Steam Workshop folder (Steam\steamapps\workshop\content). In that folder, anything you have mods subscribed for is put into numbered subfolders. Anything XCOM2 is in 268500. For ABA2, you are looking for 793861140 within that.

I tried to replace ABA with ABA 2, but it resulted in crashes with the error ‘Pure virtual function being called while application was running’ whilst scanning or even loading the game.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Where is the config for this mod? I’ve looked in XComGame\Config, both the Steam install and the folder in Documents, but I can’t find it. Is XComAI.ini this mod’s config? I can’t find an ABA folder or the BetterPods config.

Is it possible to change from A Better ADVENT to this in the same playthrough?

No like I said the only mods I have that change anything outside of outfits and some UI QoL is ABA ABC so I don't know.

ABA does have some "on reveal" abilities on certain enemies, but nothing that just straight up deals damage. Like, there's for example a Codex that throws up a bubble on reveal and an Archon that goes straight into Pinions.

If enemies are actually shooting at you instead of scampering, you are probably using the Yellow Alert Gameplay mod? That one makes enemies attack on reveal.

Is it normal for Aliens to shoot at me during reveal? I had this happen and don't remember it from the vanilla game. I only use ABA and ABC for gameplay tweaks.

Thank you for finding a way to make XCOM kick my ass even harder. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Hey, Chryssalids never attack anyone and just constantly run away in my game. How do I fix? Alternate launcher says no mod conflicts.

ah, thank you! Was just wondering, since i've been having a few issues getting my mods working!

It can be activated mid-campaign. Once it is activated, you can not de-activate it without starting a new campaign, though.

(Also make sure this is the correct version of the mod, if you have WotC please use the WotC version)

So, would it be able to work with a pre-existing game or would I have to start a new one?

@DerBK
Not a dig at your mod at all. I was just helping out anyone else who stumbles across it in the future.

Instead of getting pissed off, you could alternatively have read the description of the mod where it says:

FAIR WARNING: A Better ADVENT is considerably harder than the vanilla game and is designed around a squad of 6-8 soldiers instead of the default 4-6. To learn more about the changes this mod does to enemy squad sizes and mission generation and how you can tweak them, read here: http://sp.zhabite.com/workshop/filedetails/discussion/793861140/282992646972938696/

I'd recommend most people to play this only up to Commander difficulty if you want to stick to 4-6 soldiers squad as this mod gets kinda "Ramo"-ish without a happy ending. I've had to deal with 40+ enemies(most of them with 2+ armor) in most of my missions in Legend. Kinda pisses me off but I do have the option to lower the difficulty to alleviate the challenge.

Looks great, thanks for the recommendation.

That is sad, but understandable. Though, after having tried it a little, I'd like to adress that your mod (so far) has made Advent a much more interesting enemy. I would like to see a mod someday that makes Advent behave more human (stand guard and all that, not only walk around in pods) during concealment though, as I don't see how that would impede the gameplay too much.

Either way, thanks for the response!

Robojumper's Squad Select is the best one for sure.

Yep, I saw your note that I should have a bigger squad and/or lower my difficulty; I'll definitely be looking into that!

Can you recommend a good squad size mod? I've seen a few, but with lots of complaints about bugs too.

Many of the things you mention are just where gameplay and story collide. In a strategy game, i would argue that gameplay is king and story has to be handwaved.

The only thing that ABA kinda adresses here is making Advent somewhat more relevant and common in the later game. Ultimately, the aliens will take over most of the gameplay, though. Mindpowers and flying beasties just make for better endgame gameplay than dudes with guns.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but does this mod improve the atmosphere around advent in terms of idle actions and spawning?

For example, one of the things that has always bugged me about this game is the seemingly unnatural behaviour of Advent. It is treated as a major force by the main NPC's but acts more like a weaker version of the aliens which slowly gets replaced. This in turn makes it feel off as the aliens are trying to appear as the good guys whilst having hordes of mutons and vipers flooding the streets. It would feel more natural if, for example, missions in cities were restricted to only fighting advent.

In a way, I have the same problems with the Advent grunts as they are supposed to be 'the bulk of advent', but eventually becomes a rare sight on the battlefield.

As for the behaviour, I find Advent unnatural during stealth as they wander around aimlessly in pods instead of guarding doorways and interacting with civilians.

You are aware that ABA2 was built to be played with a bigger squad size, aye? Just checking ;)

Holy shit this is hard, got squad-wiped on my second mission. Thanks for the new challenge :)

Depends on what version of the game you are running. This is the current one for the 'old' base XCOM2, you can find the WotC version here: https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1126623381

Uhh. Which version of ABA should I get?

Thanks, the end game content in vanilla WOTC is inexistent.

Aren't those mods for WotC? If so, you want this version of ABA: https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1126623381

And yes, that version is compatible with those mods.

Is this compatible with More Mission Sitrep and more Mission Types Redux?

I just opened XCOM2 Nexus Mod Manager and I don't have ABA2 installed. It is there, but I must have not been ready to start a new campaign. The one that is installed is "A Better Advent Full Release", so that is probably why it is not working. Sorry about that!

I have had no problems with ABA2 until I tried to skulljack an Advent Codex. My Ranger was stranding right next to it and it said nothing was in range. I thought you would have had this problem solved a long time ago. I tried disabling your mods to try the mission again, but the game crashes everytime I try.

The atrticles I have read, say I shoulf look for a regular Codex, but there doesn't seem to be any of those around. What would you recommend?

thank you very much for the clarification and sorry for bothering you with this old mod, i just don't get the WotC (AND your Mod with it) cuz "i ain't got da muney brotha" :{.

Ugh, seems i wasn't aware that this was the pre-WotC version of the mod when i first answered the question about LW2 compatibility. Sorry about that, i get pings all over my mods daily and like 95% of them are on the WotC mods these days.

Alright, then:
This mod is not compatible with the LW2 mod. Reason being that ABA2 doesn't only just add enemies, it also changes mission generation and pod setups - this is where it will collide with LW2 in a way that is not solvable. I did release this mod a while back to work with LW2: Click. But truth be told, it's not maintained at all and in a pretty rudimentary state.

ABA2 is however compatible with the LW2 Alien Pack (and most other alien mods), more information here: Click.

concernig the question of adda and your answer (and asking one myself) LW2 has "separated parts" of itself, like "LW2 Alien Pack" for who wants only the added aliens, the "LW2 Perk Pack" for whoever wants only the perks. I saw your restrictions file and i just want to confirm:
It DOESN'T work with LW2, but does it work if "LW2 Alien Pack"? the one that only adds aliens?
in the file it says we might have to tweak it ourselves, but it "being part of" LW2, does it make
your mod incompatible with "LW2 Alien Pack" mod?
Im asking cuz i wanna know if i can have both mods and LW2 doesn't work for me, the Black market crashes my game and i can't choose which soldiers i can send to missions, so im using only the separate mod packs and not LW2 itself .
Sorry for long post, just wanted to make my question easier to understand (not sure if i hit my mark tho)