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[ArchAIngel]

They're not aliens, they're orcs. They are orcs which the ethereals summoned from the fantasy universe to be the bestest most charismatic enemies possible, because that's what orcs are good at.

They aren't screaming WAAAAGH! at the top of their lungs.


Not impressed.

[Chiefwaffles]

They're also siblings. And I believe it's been said that their motivation is that whoever captures the Commander essentially becomes Governor of Earth.
So they're also competing against each other in a 3-way sibling rivalry.

[Egan_BW]

They're not aliens, they're orcs. They are orcs which the ethereals summoned from the fantasy universe to be the bestest most charismatic enemies possible, because that's what orcs are good at.

They aren't screaming WAAAAGH! at the top of their lungs.


Not impressed.

Someone call Jake.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

What I don't like is the exclusivity of species. Each alien species should be of particular importance, but these three are of one unique species that doesn't appear otherwise. Like, the Rulers are unique, but they're of existing species.

Even the Ethereals appeared generically in EU/EW, and are justified in being really rare as Avatars in 2.

[ArchAIngel]

They're also siblings. And I believe it's been said that their motivation is that whoever captures the Commander essentially becomes Governor of Earth.
So they're also competing against each other in a 3-way sibling rivalry.

...Harem comedy time?

[ZebioLizard2]

What I don't like is the exclusivity of species. Each alien species should be of particular importance, but these three are of one unique species that doesn't appear otherwise. Like, the Rulers are unique, but they're of existing species.

Even the Ethereals appeared generically in EU/EW, and are justified in being really rare as Avatars in 2.

I think it's also to show that as the Ethereals mentioned in the first game that there's many more planets filled with aliens. We just see the ones they themselves have tried to 'uplift' for their grand purpose. It's a good way of showing that even if humanity was to win this war that there is far more to outer space.

[Xvareon]

I, for one, like the "humanization" of the aliens, because they are now trying to create a society that integrates us humans into it. Of course they will want "human" elements to it all. I'm impressed that it's not just their sympathizers and news-spinners, though, that there are actually other aliens with more personality to contend with. The fact that the Ethereals even allow this sort of thing is very interesting. What I think is happening here, lore-wise, is that the Chosen are the Ethereals' backup leaders, with enough authority and independence to carry on their goals even if the Ethereals should be incapacitated. Since Earth is so important to the Ethereals, they likely chose to overdo things this time and bring in more than one of these guys, which will wind up working against them because their competing personalities can get in the way of their mission. But as long as it distracts us from stopping the Ethereals' main goal long enough, then it all works out in the end.

This would mean that the Ethereals are genuinely frightened and disturbed by XCOM, in particular the Commander, because the Chosen's main goal is to hunt him down. That they would send forces that aren't 100% controllable suggests that they feel the need to have people on the job who can adapt and think as humans do, because that's apparently humanity's greatest strength. Fight fire with fire.

[nenjin]

The whole "the commander is a superhuman tactical genius and the entire invader strategy revolves around them" thing always felt forced to me, a deliberate attempt to inflate the player's sense of importance and tie it to the first game. It's got some emotional appeal in XCOM2 but by and large I always find myself going "What, there's not a single surviving military human who played video games?"

[Neonivek]

The whole "the commander is a superhuman tactical genius and the entire invader strategy revolves around them" thing always felt forced to me, a deliberate attempt to inflate the player's sense of importance and tie it to the first game. It's got some emotional appeal in XCOM2 but by and large I always find myself going "What, there's not a single surviving military human who played video games?"

It is kind of funny that they think of you so highly given you failed, and failed BADLY. During a time the aliens had less resources and were weaker... and you had unlimited resources.

[Xvareon]

The whole "the commander is a superhuman tactical genius and the entire invader strategy revolves around them" thing always felt forced to me, a deliberate attempt to inflate the player's sense of importance and tie it to the first game. It's got some emotional appeal in XCOM2 but by and large I always find myself going "What, there's not a single surviving military human who played video games?"

Do not forget that the Commander was tied to the entire ADVENT network on a command & control level before the Resistance rescued him. And when they did, the tactical data fed to ADVENT's captains in the field got scrambled, so that they became less efficient and effective at their jobs. When they had the Commander, they were nigh-unstoppable. But now you see them being a lot more predictable now that they don't have as smart a mind feeding them strategy & tactics. They want him back, and they want him badly.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Well, at least there's some chance this expansion will also show some other elements of the resistance in depth. The former Commander of X-Com escaping is a big deal even without the aliens cementing them in the psionic network, so some importance is all right. For me it'll depend on how they right the new dialogue.

[EnigmaticHat]

The whole "the commander is a superhuman tactical genius and the entire invader strategy revolves around them" thing always felt forced to me, a deliberate attempt to inflate the player's sense of importance and tie it to the first game. It's got some emotional appeal in XCOM2 but by and large I always find myself going "What, there's not a single surviving military human who played video games?"

Yeah... it didn't bother me much in the first game.  Oh sure Earth's best commander just sent that guy out in the open to die, well one of Earth's best soldiers just missed a 90% shot.  Logically if they hired me for the job I must have a pretty impressive resume, my actual performance in-game isn't part of the story

But the second game made it too explicit.  You are specifically so good of a commander that the aliens considered you worth preserving unlike the rest of Xcom.  Like damn I thought I was just some dude.

[Neonivek]

But the second game made it too explicit.  You are specifically so good of a commander that the aliens considered you worth preserving unlike the rest of Xcom.  Like damn I thought I was just some dude.

I always justified that by them needing someone who is not only good with tactics but also someone who understands human tactics.

That and you are also compatible with their machine, which few people are. (likely linked to psionic potential)

[Chiefwaffles]

I still like my head canon that

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

the Commander is the Ethereal from the Bureau. The ending mission even supports this with the Elders' dialogue!

Also, I don't think I mentioned that apparently the expansion also adds a new ending cinematic replacing the one from the base game.

[GiglameshDespair]

The whole "the commander is a superhuman tactical genius and the entire invader strategy revolves around them" thing always felt forced to me, a deliberate attempt to inflate the player's sense of importance and tie it to the first game. It's got some emotional appeal in XCOM2 but by and large I always find myself going "What, there's not a single surviving military human who played video games?"

It is kind of funny that they think of you so highly given you failed, and failed BADLY. During a time the aliens had less resources and were weaker... and you had unlimited resources.

It's mentioned in the original XCOM that the aliens could probably cream you if they so desired, but are holding off on that for unknown reasons.
In XCOM 2's case, they did, though that doesn't mean the Commander's performance wasn't impressive in the time they had.

The whole "the commander is a superhuman tactical genius and the entire invader strategy revolves around them" thing always felt forced to me, a deliberate attempt to inflate the player's sense of importance and tie it to the first game. It's got some emotional appeal in XCOM2 but by and large I always find myself going "What, there's not a single surviving military human who played video games?"

Yeah... it didn't bother me much in the first game.  Oh sure Earth's best commander just sent that guy out in the open to die, well one of Earth's best soldiers just missed a 90% shot.  Logically if they hired me for the job I must have a pretty impressive resume, my actual performance in-game isn't part of the story

But the second game made it too explicit.  You are specifically so good of a commander that the aliens considered you worth preserving unlike the rest of Xcom.  Like damn I thought I was just some dude.

I mean... you were the dude specifically chosen by a shadowy council of the most powerful nations on earth in order to fend off an existential threat.
They probably wouldn't hire any old Jim off the street.

The most important people of XCOM aside from the Commander got away, and the aliums have no need for the more standard goons in XCOM.