In Firaxis Games' XCOM universe, a lot has changed in the 20 years since the alien invasion of 2015. After Earth’s swift defeat and unconditional surrender in XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the role of the soldiers who went underground to continue fighting this war changed to suit a more guerrilla style of combat.

XCOM 2

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The Ranger is largely built for close-range combat, hefting a shotgun or assault rifle as a primary weapon. But the Ranger's signature tool will obviously be the machete sword, which introduces melee combat to XCOM. These weapons allow you to upgrade your Ranger for either pure damage dealing or as a fast-moving, agile scout who can move quickly and quietly through rough terrain – and even scale walls.

“ My Ranger is buffed and protected as I go out and scout. And then, if I can catch an enemy off guard, I go slice things up real quick.

While a stealth approach allows you the first shot, the Ranger doesn’t do backstabbing or throat-cutting style kills. "It's hardcore melee combat," DeAngelis clarified. "We talked a little bit about the backstabbing stuff, but we led with the melee."

Concealment is a big part of XCOM 2 combat, and that can work both for and against the Ranger. “Every unit is in concealment when they start the map; the ranger can push that further, depending on how you spec them out in their specialty tree,” said DeAngelis., and the Ranger is among the best equipped to make the most of the element of surprise. Leaping out of the shadows with a sword to deal a huge amount of damage on the most powerful enemy targets before they know what hit them, or locating enemies for long-range allies can turn the tables on what would have been a losing fight. But once spotted, the close-range nature of the Ranger’s abilities means using them aggressively can leave him out of cover and vulnerable. “So, making that risk/reward choice is very powerful. It's an interesting decision; there's other enemies around you, so you probably don't want to do that.”



“ Making that risk/reward choice is very powerful. There's other enemies around you, so you probably don't want to [reveal yourself.]

Another high-level skill, called Phantom, allows the Ranger to move again after a kill. On its own, that ability allows you to dash out of cover, strike down an enemy, and dash back – effectively turning the Ranger’s sword into a ranged weapon (although exposing him to Overwatch cover fire).

A Phantom-Reaper Ranger could be absolutely devastating. Imagine, if you will, using a Grenadier to soften up – but not quite kill – a squad of Advent soldiers with an explosive area-of-effect attack. Then your Ranger dashes in and slices and dices his way through all of them, one at a time, for a bloody clean-up.

Brandin Tyrrel is IGN's Associate Editor. You can find him on Twitter.