XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is essentially a more complete version of the vanilla XCOM 2 Campaign. I originally played the XCOM 2 Vanilla campaign, but after playing through WotC i realized that was a mistake. For everyone that is trying out XCOM 2 for the first time I would recommend playing wotc and ignoring vanilla campaign. WotC is a feature complete version of XCOM 2, it basically adds factions, covert ops that allow you to promote soldiers that you arent using or get more supplies, etc which breaks away some of the repetitive parts of the xcom 2 vanilla campaign.
Furthermore, it adds 3 new big bosses called the Chosen that not only play a big role in the campaign but are also fun challenges to tackle with providing op rewards when you finally defeat them. Its basically the best version of XCOM 2, there is no reason for you to play the vanilla campaign, since this has everything from the vanilla plus an absurd number of new features added on top of it.

This is absolutely an amazing DLC and the most recommended DLC you should get for XCOM 2! This DLC adds even more content to the game and oh boy, you shouldn't miss out. It's an entire overhaul of the base game!
Pros:
- 3 New factions and soldier classes! (Reapers, Templars, Skirmishers)
- 3 New alien bosses or AKA The Chosen. Each of them has unique abilities and they are powerful! (Assassin, Warlock, Hunter)
- Covert operations (Just like in Enemy Within)
- Extends the story of base XCOM 2
- New Environment you can fight in with a new enemy type (Abandoned Cities)
- New powerful ADVENT enemy types (Spectres, ADVENT Priests, Purifiers)
- Soldiers can develop bonds between each other (So they can work together much better if they are on the same mission)
- Challenge Mode
- Photobooth, with this feature, you can make custom posters with your soldiers and they posters you make can appear throughout the game. Even in your own Avenger. (Like at the Bar and the Living Quarters)
Cons:
- Steam Workshop mods with the new launcher is quite buggy and may not load mods at all, so you have to use the old launcher in order for your mods to work. But, I've made a guide with a possible fix for you to try out. For me it works perfectly.
If you are thinking about getting this DLC, I say yes, you should definitely pick up this DLC.
10/10

This expansion adds a large amount of very high quality content to the game. Fighting against "the lost" requires a whole different strategy from fighting advent, and "the chosen" are the bosses that "rulers" were supposed to be in the much worse Alien Hunters DLC. I would recommend playing through the vanilla game without WotC first, but then playing with WotC is a must. It makes it almost a whole new game. I would say this is the only must-play DLC for this game.

I just started playing WOTC. I downloaded it a year ago, but kept playing the vanilla game. The vanilla is pretty good and I thought "I'll get to WOTC eventually". WTF was I thinking?!? WOTC makes this game 5x better! Don't be like me... play this version.

Well, look at that, turns out I never actually bothered writing a review for what slowly climbed up to claim the top spot as my favorite game of the last decade or so.
Possibly a contendere for my "all time favorite", period.
To be honest, I started rather lukewarm to the Fireaxis reboot of this franchise.
I enjoyed the first game fair extent, but I had some criticism about how they managed some parts of the game (like the overall strategic layer) and having a closed number of fixed missions severely limited the enjoyment after a first playthrough. "Limited replayability", as they say.
I also wasn't exactly fond about how they changed the "action point" system of the original UFO Enemy Unknown with a "two moves per turn" one.
Fast forward few years, XCOM 2 came and improved the formula in several areas, while introducing few minor annoyances here and there plus a questionable (but not necessarily bad) shift in tone/setting.
THEN it was the turn of War of the Chosen, and despise the cheesiness of these overly-chatty megavillains, the amount of improvements it introduced was simply too large to ignore on a mechanical level.
Way more variety, way more mission types, a lot of side activities like the covert missions, a mechanic of "tiredness" that cleverly forced the player to rotate his soldiers way more often, more scientific achievements to make use of, etc, etc.
At some point in the past year the realization dawned on me: this is not a game I'm barely "enjoying" anymore. I think I'm officially in love with it. The more I play it, the more I realize that I may actually like this even more than the original grandfather of the franchise, which is something I could never imagined I could hear myself saying few years ago. No matter how nostalgic of the original UFO I can feel, I get the distinct feeling that at NO point I ever found its tactical battles as frantic and exhilarating as in War of the Chosen.
I never seem to grow tired of finding myself against what may seem at first overwhelmingly unfavorable odds and exploiting every trick I know about the game to turn these engagements into curb-stomp victories for my team of super soldiers.
You occasionally hear people complaining that there's too much RNG, "too much left to chances", that "you constantly miss 99% shots", but the more you get familiar with the mechanics, the more you'll realize that's mostly untrue, especially past the early rookie phase.
There's plenty you can do to *guarantee* yourself a victory instead of relying on "rolling dices" and crossing fingers hoping you'll land unlikely shots.
Sure-damage abilities, crown control, instant free actions that don't end your turn, etc.
For how this game works when mastered to a even just a decent degree, very time you are relying exclusively on a lucky dice roll, you are already making a mistake.
In fact, let's be blunt here: the people you can see beetching against the unfairness are just the ones that never learned how play decently.

After playing this you will find it impossible to return to base XCOM 2.
War of the Chosen adds three new enemies, three new allies, and three new bosses as well as interesting story that fits the lore. I'll break down everything and give a TL;DR at the end for it all. Let's start with...
Reapers
A fantastic scouting unit with explosives galore. Honestly my personal favorite among the bunch. With a lower detection radius than every other unit, and the ability to stay concealment for the entire mission (implying they always score killshots and stay properly positioned) they will wreak havoc on any Advent units. Nothing is better than laying a Claymore as a single action then remote starting a nearby car to have a double boom and kill four people.
Skirmishers
In terms of lore they're my favorite. The idea of Advent soldiers breaking free of their chips and control to rebel against their masters is fascinating and executed very well. Everyone seems on edge with them, which is rightfully so. Their toolkit is probably the strongest out of the three. Grenades taking one action, grapple as a free action, pulling enemies to you (triggering a free Overwatch strike against priority targets), pulling towards enemies, an attack for the robotic enemies, and a free burning melee against stun lancers who try to get in. So much utility. The only downside is the Bullpup. It's a pretty weak gun at all ranges, and doesn't seem to work with the kit given, in my opinion.
Templars
Not gonna spend too much time on them because I honestly feel they're the weakest in both aspects. Psionic extremists who have found a way to make full use out of the latent powers humans have. Cool, kinda like advent but better? Their meant to run in with melee, generate focus, and pop powers off. Which all sounds good, but in execution you're better off just getting a normal Psi-soldier. The damage is fine, the wave buff to it is okay, the Mag Pistol exists(?) but you won't use it, honestly their mostly just a meat shield that refusing to take direct damage. If Focus was more reliably generated and their powers didn't feel weaker than Psi-Soldiers then they could be beautiful warriors. Ultimately they just fall into the role of beat a Ranger with different spices.
Purifier
Flamey boys. Honestly the weapon itself seems oddly inconsistent. They tend to miss regardless of what they do, but hitting you directly is never their goal. Purifiers are fantastic at zoning you off from an area with wide sweeping attacks that inflict burns. Oddly enough they seem to like pathing into a group of civilians so that when you kill them they take multiple with them. Just be careful about that. I'm not sure what causes them to explode on death, but maybe it has something to do with overkill? Either way if you're too worried then just use a Psi-Soldier to Fuse their box to stop that from happening.
Priest
I have no idea how this wasn't a default enemy. A better Sectoid in every way. At some point they replace Sectoids entirely. Their Psionics are better, they actually are a threat, can stasis to get a cheeky second wind, and mind control your units effectively. Big fan of these guys. Not frustratingly difficult and nothing too annoying to deal with. They'll rarely kill a unit, but will ensure you run a man down a turn, or at least stall you.
Specter
You guessed it: My least favorite. They feel like a more annoying Codex, and I didn't even know that was possible. Lightning reflexes mean that Overwatching them with a sniper is useless, nor can anyone react strike them when they move in for Shadowbound. The momentum move they get after using that move is also a bit irritating to deal with. A distraction at best, and frustratingly annoying at worst. They have a habit of moving in and disabling your best soldier just to piss you off. They're rarely survive a turn as they become a priority target the moment Shadowbound happens. Not a fan, but... I guess they're harmless?
The Chosen: Hunter
Oh I love this guy. By far the least difficult out of the three. I think out of all my fights with him he's ever hit three units for no more than 7 damage. That's a lot, granted, but this was after he's been in play for five turns and missed four tracking shots. Certainly his flashbang can be annoying as sin. Personality-wise he's the strongest. A cocky and genuinely funny guy. He asks a few interesting questions and has a comedic retort to those same ones. I tend to leave him alive because he's so fun to have around. Sorry man. I needed your guns...
The Chosen: Assassin
She's okay. Far more difficult than Hunter, and can be a bit irritating at times. Her melee dazing targets is something. She always gets a momentum move after melee and you're forced to outsmart her AI's pathing. But never triggering OW is another hitch in how you deal with her. Certainly she'll cause you a headache, but her weapons are SO FUN! Honestly she's a priority takedown for the Chosen. An honor-bound warrior who will take advantage of your team if you leave her to her own devices for too long.
The Chosen: Warlock
Now this might sound strange but I actually kind of like this guy. He's excellent training for the Avatar if you get him early. His powers are probably the most annoying to deal with, and the teleporting after every hit forces you to improvise. I don't think he's ever directly damaged any of my units? Potentially the strongest out of the three just based off his tool kit alone. The rifle he gives is brutal if you take it against a Gatekeeper or Priest. Extra damage to Psionic targets is fantastic.
The Lost
Well....save the worst for last? I'm mixed on them. Zombies were already a thing in XCOM thanks to the Chrysalids and Sectoids. So ones made from alien radiation makes total sense to me. The AI seems to not care that grenades draw them in, and it's interesting that Advent units will take them down along with your units. The headshot mechanic just ensures you'll clear a horde in one rotation and all it will cost is a unit's ability to move along with firing.
Overall
A brilliant edition to XCOM 2! I can't imagine playing it any other way now. Well...maybe with the exception of with mods. That's another thing I forgot to mention! Modding support has basically strictly moved to WOTC, so you'll need this to use most of the newer mods for it. I'm so happy I sat down and learned this game to enjoy this to the fullest... I regret nothing.
TL;DR
Get this shit. It's good as fuck.

THIS EXPANSION IS THE BEST WAY TO PLAY XCOM 2. PERIOD.
The Chosen are very tough but this expansion adds multiple paths to victory (or defeat) which is important in a STRATEGY game. The Chosen are everything the Alien Hunters DLC should've been. Their strengths and weaknesses are randomized so they're never the same twice. Over time they get stronger but so do you! And if you manage to get enough reputation with the corresponding faction... then you're given ONE CHANCE to kill of The Chosen for good. The fights are intense and the Chosen drops are 100% worth the fight. I love it.
The three new factions along with their Covert Operations add a whole new dimension to the base game. It's absolutely amazing. I personally like The Templars because who doesn't like a psychic that can use their mind to make laser swords over their hands?! If you like sneaky bois then The Reapers are for you! And the Skirmishers... Well they... skirmish? They're cool though.
I haven't even gotten to the fact that almost every new voice actor in this expansion is from Star Trek: The Next Generation. For those interested I'm referring to Ryker, Troi, and Worf.
My favorite part of this expansion though? FINALLY NEW WAYS TO DEAL WITH THE AVATAR PROJECT TIMER!
Ugh, I nearly had to change my pants the first time I sent out a covert operation to reduce the Avatar Timer.
I wholeheartedly recommend this expansion.