Difficulty (XCOM2)

XCOM 2 Difficulties

Official Descriptions

Rookie Appropriate for players new to tactical games or XCOM in general. Veteran A challenge appropriate for players familiar with XCOM Commander A significant challenge for experienced XCOM 2 players only. Legend A longer game with no margin for error. Only the strongest XCOM players will survive. The tutorial will not be enabled for Legend difficulty.

Source: XCOM 2

Strategic and Tactical Differences

These are mostly pulled from the config files for XCOM 2. There may be additional affects.

Rookie

• Max 4 engaged enemies
• 30 intel cost to contact a region
• Significant hidden aim assist
• Rookie soldier has 6 health
• Basic trooper has 3 health and mutons have 8

Veteran

• Max 6 engaged enemies
• 30 intel cost to contact a region
• Some hidden aim assist
• Rookie soldier has 5 health
• Basic Advent trooper has 3 health and mutons have 8

Commander

• Max 6 engaged enemies
• 40 intel cost to contact a region
• Minor hidden aim assist
• Rookie soldier has 4 health
• Enemies have more health, e.g. the basic Advent trooper has 4 health and mutons have 9
• Takes a few extra missions to rank a soldier up to colonel

Legend

• No limit to engaged enemies
• 80 intel cost to contact a region
• No aim assist
• Rookie soldier has 4 health
• Enemies have even more health, e.g. the basic Advent trooper has 4 health and mutons have 11
• Takes almost double the missions to rank a soldier up to colonel
• Building facilities cost more and research takes a lot longer (see XComStrategyTuning.ini)
• Mimic beacons need 3 faceless corpses instead of 2
• More dangerous enemy types arrive later in the calendar year, e.g. Sectopods arrive in October versus August.