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[Teneb]

I don't think we'll see Chrysallids. They're mindless killers, useful in an invasion, not so much for day to day occupation.

Maybe they'll be deployed once XCOM has ruined their plans enough for them not to care about PR anymore?

[NullForceOmega]

That's my line of thinking as well, you almost definitely wouldn't see them early on, but once you become effective, the ethereals might take off the kiddie gloves.

[Rolan7]

As someone theorized earlier, they might be harassing the areas outside the cities.  You'd think their population would explode uncontrollably...  But that didn't happen in XCOM 1 so presumably there are some limiting factors.  In this case, it could be that the rural areas are severely depopulated since the aliens arrived.  The aliens supposedly saved humanity from something, after all.  Hm...

[Sheb]

That make sense. But it kinda blow their benevolent cover.

[Wimopy]

Just remember that one of the guys on the hacked Advent sight was missing and rescued. Aliens have bases and research centres. Now, I wonder who will be used as guard dogs or what some humans with little psi or other potential might be used for.

Also, we can theorize that they aren't entirely mindless beasts. Xenomorphs seem like that in the Alien franchise, but they are shown to be frighteningly smart. Chrysalids can at least follow basic commands and determine who's a friend and who's a foe. Which means that despite being using as terror units, they may have other uses as well, especially now that it's a defensive war. (And it's implied that the Ethereals fight a defensive war against another foe already*, so Chrysalids can't only be good for terror missions.)

Plus! Chrysalids have great offensive potential. The aliens need soldiers to fight a war. Having Chrysalids nest in some areas, even if it's using livestock or wildlife, would make a great addition to the army. I'm expecting we'll stumble upon another Chrysalid nest in a mission.

*: Final stand on Earth incoming? XCOM having to push back the invaders even the aliens couldn't beat? Alliance with the alien forces against the even greater alien forces? Maybe not this game, but it's coming. So much foreshadowing.

[scrdest]

Speaking of dogs - that's what Chryssalids are, except they are *attack* dogs - nowhere as smart as their controller, but controllable, in a point-at-target-and-watch kinda way, plus they mass-produce themselves.

[IronyOwl]

I don't think we'll see Chrysallids. They're mindless killers, useful in an invasion, not so much for day to day occupation.

Sensibility aside, I just don't think they'd have the stones to not include such an iconic and bastardly foe, especially if the whole game is centered around These Aliens Are Better Than You Good Luck.

I don't think we'll see Chrysallids. They're mindless killers, useful in an invasion, not so much for day to day occupation.

Maybe they'll be deployed once XCOM has ruined their plans enough for them not to care about PR anymore?

That's my line of thinking as well, you almost definitely wouldn't see them early on, but once you become effective, the ethereals might take off the kiddie gloves.

That make sense. But it kinda blow their benevolent cover.

It wouldn't necessarily have to be a full-blown blanket reveal; they could just decide that under certain circumstances, they are DONE with this shit and collateral is no longer a concern. This does run into sensitivity vs value issues, wherein if you're raiding a top-secret lab the main snugglebug fodder are valuable scientists, while if there's tasty worthless civilians everywhere how valuable could the site be.

Maybe PR missions could make good snugglebug nests. You've got damaging propaganda to spread, the aliens politely disagree, full-blown war ensues at the Transmission Tower. Those DJs will be missed.


They could also just use them as sewer assault hounds or whatever and let their most prized ability go mostly to waste or be retuned to account for the rarity of it going off. It'd be disappointing, but not as disappointing as leaving them out entirely.

Also to note: With Thin Men apparently transformed into Snake Devas, we don't have any official infiltration units. Going skinspy or The Thing, as mentioned above, could be an interesting and more-human direction to take them in. Some civilians hanging out outside a building could turn out to be guards after all, or an easy takedown could go all sorts of bad when the ADVENT in question just sheds its fleshy disguise and tells your ranger that that's an adorable knife it's got there.

Not my favorite possibility, since I do like the more bestial snugglebugs, but it's there and it's horrifying as all hell.

[EnigmaticHat]

One thing I've noticed is that the actual text of the IGN posts doesn't seem to be completely correct.

For example the Ranger spotlight mentioned two abilities: reaper (melee kills grant an additional attack infinitely) and phantom (you can move after a melee attack).  The IGN writer said when the game comes out phantom/reaper assaults would be kickass.  Anyone who's actually played Xcom can guess that those two abilities are going to be mutually exclusive, for the obvious reason.

[Toaster]

Well, the movement will still cost an action even if the melee doesn't.  You can use (in LW at least) Lock n Load to extend an ITZ chain past a reload currently.

[jocan2003]

As someone theorized earlier, they might be harassing the areas outside the cities.  You'd think their population would explode uncontrollably...  But that didn't happen in XCOM 1 so presumably there are some limiting factors.  In this case, it could be that the rural areas are severely depopulated since the aliens arrived.  The aliens supposedly saved humanity from something, after all.  Hm...

Harassing the area outside of megacity and while at it blaming XCOM turned rogue for PR so the cities hates us and not them. We often see in movies government doing terrorist attacks to further scare population and *force* them to accept heavvier control by the different alphabets? In person of interest there was such attack to make the *machine* more accepted by the senate or something and in few other movies/series.

[Flying Dice]

Kinda hard to do false flag attacks with your terrifying stabby zombie-making penetration monsters when the people you're blaming don't have any and aren't even really a known thing, given that XCOM went underground after they fucked up the tutorial mission.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I don't think we'll see Chrysallids. They're mindless killers, useful in an invasion, not so much for day to day occupation.

"Chryssalids are a pest species which exists throughout the Ethereal Collective, and have found their way to Earth by stowing away on spacecraft. Chryssalids are extremely dangerous and willing to hunt humans, so if you see one, please report to the nearest ADVENT security station. While Chryssalids would be unable to form a stable population on Earth themselves, the human terrorist group X-Com has been breeding them in order to cause chaos."

[jocan2003]

Exactly! Also i havent been following carefully enough but if the human race as a whole doesnt know advent are in fact alien, advent could go as far as calling XCOM pro-alien as te general populace dont know who XCOM really are beside the council? Unless the advent are trying to sell the alien-as-benefactor.

Man does that makes me think of the serie who got canned V ( for visitor ), where the alien invade earth and are covertly working toward earth enslavement but in public relation appears as god sent, giving away massive steps in technology souch as blue energy wich is nearly infinite energy at really low cost, masssive advance in medical stuff like that, while a small group being actively hunted by them and the authority is trying to expose who they really are but is having hard time since they are *soo good*

[EnigmaticHat]

They do know ADVENT is alien, ADVENT has a statue advertising that fact.

[jocan2003]

Hmmm sometime im just THAT blind....