Second Wave (EU2012)

The third DLC released for XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Second Wave is installed free of charge, unlike the previous DLC. The existence of Second Wave was unknown since the released of the demo but the developers only finished ironing it out after the game was released, and according to Jake Solomon with the help of the modders who had already discovered how to activate it and were testing its features.

Second Wave adds Advanced Game Play options to increase the difficulty and randomness of the game, described below. The options are unlocked as the player wins on advanced difficulty levels.

Starting Options

• Damage Roulette - Weapons have a much wider range of damage.
• New Economy - A country will offer less funding as its panic increases.
• Not Created Equally - A rookie's stats will vary
• Hidden Potential - Rookies will have random starting stats.
  • Movement is also affected, unlike Not Created Equally and the variance is bigger.

Unlocked after winning Normal/Classic/Impossible

• Red Fog - Any wounds taken in combat will degrade a soldier's stats for that mission.
• Absolutely Critical - A flanking shot will guarantee a critical hit.
• The Greater Good - The secret of psionics can only be learned by interrogating a psionic alien.
• Marathon - The game takes considerably longer to complete.
• Results Driven - As a soldier is promoted, their stats will increase randomly.
• High Stakes - The rewards granted for stopping alien abductions are randomized.
• Diminishing Returns - The cost of satellites increases with every one that is built.
• More Than Human - The psionic gift is extremely rare.

Unlocked only after winning Impossible

• Total Loss - Lose all gear from soldiers who die in combat.
• War Wariness - Overall funding levels drop inexorably with every month that passes.
• E-115 - Elerium stores will degrade over time.
• Alternate Sources - The power requirements of all facilities are increased.