Progeny (EU2012)

Operation Progeny is a new campaign on the Enemy Within DLC (EW) consisting of 3 linked Council missions, similar to the previous Slingshot campaign. Like Slingshot, Progeny is optional and can be toggled on/off when choosing the game options at start.

Progeny was created to be released as the 2nd planned standalone DLC for XCOM: Enemy Unknown but its release was cancelled after a general less than positive response to Slingshot and Firaxis decided instead to include it on EW. Thus, the narrative has suffered some changes from the original version to fit with the additions brought by EW to the XCOM universe, namely the EXALT and the Base Defense missions.

The campaign consists of 3 missions, called Portent, Deluge and Furies and revolves about a new French character, Annette Durand, which has a special power that makes her a target of interest for XCOM, the Aliens and EXALT.

The first mission, Portent takes place in April and the following missions, Deluge and Furies will only happen after the Alien Base Assault and XCOM Base Defense missions are completed. According to Dr. Vahlen, Annette is the reason behind the assault the XCOM HQ since the aliens managed to use her psionic powers to mass control XCOM personnel and allow the raid to happen.

After Deluge is completed, Annette will become an XCOM soldier at the Barracks, with a random class and the rank of Lieutenant. Successfully completing Furies can also give you up to 3 additional soldiers, all Lieutenant rank and gifted if psionically tested.

As part of EW's expanded storyline, Progeny's missions are not essential, but they add to the overall story of the fight against EXALT and the Alien collective, while Slingshot is it's own side plot.

But, if you're out to make an early profit, it may be better to disable Progeny:

• Portent will always be first (pushing Friends in Low Places into April), but the other two missions in this side plot won't take place until the aliens have done their assault on the XCOM HQ, which only takes place after the assault on the Alien Base.
• Annette and her fellow abductees' stats, recruited months into the game, won't be as useful as getting Zhang in just a few weeks in, especially since pre-leveled recruits (such as from Abduction/Council rewards) don't benefit from OTS's Iron Will.
  • This also includes having your later-game soldiers in mind, if Hidden Potential and Not Created Equally are chosen, and you have already begun farming and raising for your Psi Squad; they can easily get higher stats than pre-leveled soldiers.
  • Pre-leveled soldiers are not a priority reward in general: generic Abduction/Council Reward soldiers will always be one level below your highest-ranked solider, and Zhang is the one exception as he will be the only one that can be of higher rank than any soldiers you'll have at the time.
• What you can sell and research from Slingshot's Battleship mission in (as early as) April, vs an Abductor in late summer.
• At the very least, the Council rewards of the first missions are more profitable from Slingshot.
• For a better comparison of both campaigns check Progeny vs. Slingshot.