XCOM Chimera Squadchanged the usual XCOM formula in a number of different ways, but one of the things that makes this game fresh is the fact that there are eleven different Agents, all with their own unique abilities, personalities, and so forth. Permadeath is not a thing in thisXCOM,so you’ll be getting familiar with most of these characters as the game unfolds. Different squad combinations are going to yield different results, and while one squad combo might really work with one player, another player might not have the right playstyle to get the most out of it.
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For this list, let’s take a look at Axiom, his abilities, and how to get the most out of him when he’s in your squad:
10BATTERING RAM
One of the first abilities available to Axiom is Battering Ram. This ability is used in the Breaching phase, and gives Axiom a chance to panic nearby enemies upon bursting through the door. This change increases the higher Rage (we’ll get into that next) that Axiom has. Panicking enemies in XCOM is generally a good way to severely disrupt the enemy and their formation, so this can only help.
9RAGE
Rage is naturally gained by Axiom when he takes damage, but it can also be increased manually in some different ways. Rage increases the disabling chance with certain melee abilities along with adding some extra ‘oomph’ to others. The downside of Rage is that a high Rage value can cause Axiom to go Berserk, making you lose control of him for a short time.
8SHRUG IT OFF/AFTERSHOCK
Once Axiom levels up to a Field Agent, he has the choice between two different abilities: Shrug It Off or Aftershock.
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Shrug It Off gives Axiom the chance to reduce incoming damage to 1 from whatever it would have been otherwise. This can be an absolute game-changer, but it’s also not something that you can rely on.
7SMASH
One of the bread-and-butter abilities for Axiom, Smash allows Axiom to charge a target and slam both fists into the ground, dealing damage in a radius. There’s a chance to Disorient, Stun, or render the target Unconscious, and that chance goes up the higher Rage that Axiom has.
6QUAKE
Quake is, for all intents and purposes, an upgraded version of Smash that’s only usable once per mission. With Quake, Axiom leaps into the air and slams back down, dealing damage in a radius, destroying cover, and generally just wreaking havoc inside the damage range. If the enemy is pretty clumped together or has some seriously good cover, Quake is a surefire way to take care of that problem pretty quickly.
5PSYCH UP
Psych Up is another fairly simple ability: activating this increases Axiom’s Rage. Rage is used to enhance a variety of different abilities, but activating Psych Up comes with the inherent risk of immediately causing Axiom to go Berserk.
4ADRENAL SURGE
Generally, Smash and Pysch Up would each end your turn. However, with Adrenal Surge active, that isn’t necessarily the case. If you’ve got multiple things you’d like to accomplish with Axiom or just want a very high-damage turn, activating Adrenal Surge and then going to town is the way to do it.
3REGENERATION/FEAR FACTOR
At the Senior Agent level, Axiom has a choice between two different abilities: Regeneration and Fear Factor.
Regeneration is a super nice ability: it allows Axiom to regenerate a small amount of HP at the beginning of his turn. This helps enable Axiom to fit into a high-damage Tank sort of role and allows you to keep him a bit more in the line-of-fire than you otherwise might.
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Fear Factor upgrades Smash to give it a chance to inflict Panic on enemies, increasing the higher Axiom’s Rage. If you find yourself using Smash fairly often then this is going to be of some value, but it’s hard to turn down the passive healing of Regeneration.
2SHREDDER
Axiom’s weapon of choice is a shotgun, and the Shredder ability enables his shotgun to shred the armor of enemies, allowing attacks on those enemies to deal more damage. Not everyenemyin XCOM Chimera Squad is going to have armor, but those that do can be a real pain to deal with. Shredder is going to lessen thatstrugglequite a bit, making those fights much more manageable. Targeting those enemies with armor is going to strengthen this effect, though it’s not worth putting yourself in harm’s way just to shred the armor.
1OVERALL
Axiom is going to be most effective in close-quarters combat; there’s no doubt about it. His weapon functions better the closer he is to his target, and nearly all of his abilities require him to be in (or at least close to) melee range in order to function. He’s going to be up-close-and-personal in just about every fight, so it’s a good idea to bring another character that’s going to be in that range or a character that can easily help heal Axiom or negate the damage he takes, in order to lessen the load on his shoulders.
