Share. The human arm of the occupation force. The human arm of the occupation force.

On alien-occupied Earth, the setting of Firaxis Games’ XCOM 2, it’s not all fire and brimstone. Though humanity was quickly crushed, and helplessly buckled under the weight of the invasion, the ensuing 20 years of life on our planet have seen more integration than oppressive subjugation.

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People flock to the shining white mega-cities built across the earth by our alien benefactors with the promise of an easier life free of disease. And to manage those populations, the aliens have conscripted the Advent - the ostensibly human arm of the occupation force.

Though Firaxis is keeping details on the Advent’s origins quiet for now (other than to say they’re not directly connected to the Exalt forces from XCOM: Enemy Within), its soldiers act as a sort of military police for the aliens proper.

“ This is their military force that keeps order and makes sure that the civilians are staying in line.

“This is the front line of the alien’s sort of veil that they're putting on in these city centers,” said XCOM 2 Lead Producer Garth DeAngelis. “This is their military force that keeps order and makes sure that the civilians are staying in line.”

And it makes sense, because it’s easier to control a population with their own kind than having seven-foot tall aliens walking around giving orders. And though the Advent are distinctly human in appearance, as we saw in the XCOM 2 reveal trailer, they’re capable of communicating with the various creatures that pull the strings - and they bleed yellowish blood.

As the grunts of the Advent family of enemies, Advent Troopers are the first opponents you’re likely to find in the streets of XCOM 2. They sport some aggressive-looking futuristic armor and advanced magnetic weaponry supplied by our benevolent alien overlords.

“We really wanted to make these guys cool,” said XCOM 2 Art Director Greg Foertsch. “They needed to have a uniform to look, to push away from the aliens a little bit on the visual level. There may be a slight Boba Fett influence, too.”

Advent Troopers are everywhere, and they’re coordinated, especially when led by an Advent Captain. You’ll easily spot their distinctive red-tinted armor, helmet, and of course, the cape – the signature of every good Captain. They don’t just have distinctive fashion sense - they also come equipped with a number of abilities that drive home the focus of teamwork. For example, they’re able to increase the effectiveness of other Advent soldiers just from their presence alone.

“They can do an ability called Command Aura,” DeAngelis explained. “Which is an [area of effect] buff for any other troopers within their radius. It gives them better aim and they can potentially do more damage to XCOM soldiers.”

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But the disadvantages of fighting a squad of Advent Troopers reinforced by a Captain are more than just a passive upgrade. Captains can also use an ability that marks one of your XCOM soldiers for death, forcing any Troopers in the area to focus their fire on that one unfortunate person. Suffice it to say, with the combat of XCOM 2 shifting more toward stealth and position than ever before, getting caught out in the open and marked for death is going to be a bad time.

But let’s say you get the upper hand and overwhelm your Advent opponents. Well, if you didn’t kill the Captain, it might all have been in vain. In addition to their already frustrating array of ways to make your job as a freedom fighter more difficult, Advent Captains can also summon dropships of Advent reinforcements. All this to say, taking them down with your first strike when coming out of concealment should be a priority.

Brandin Tyrrel is an Associate Editor at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter at @BrandinTyrrel.