History Headscratchers / XCom2

** That might actually be an allusion to [[spoiler:statements from Firaxis developers that XCOM 2 takes place in a different timeline where XCOM failed. Maybe that Ethereal is from the timeline where XCOM won and made peace, and managed to send a message into another world.]]

* Final Mission Spoilers: [[spoiler:During the Final Mission, while the Angelis Ethereal trying to talk you down (Somehow arguing that her juicing people is for their own benefit), another Ethereal chimes in, telling you (And it's specifically addressing you as Commander) That you beat "them" before, and can do it again? Who is this guy? Why does he want me to beat the other Ethereals? And what does he mean I beat them before? Didn't XCOM lose badly?]]

** Well given there is a flashback of a thin man jamming the chip the same way as Tygan either the chip has some sort of nut behind the uvula to make it hard to extract from behind or there is different chip implantation method and the picture was from a second model.

* The PlayerCharacter integration to the story is great but it makes me wonder, who is he this guy In-universe? Since X-com failed in this universe his reputation as HopeBringer and WorthyOpponent must come from before. Unless of course in that reality you got perfect rating in all mission before the aliens captured you.

* How did Tygan extract the chip from Commander's head? In the cutscene we are shown that using some device Tygan pulled it from the front, but on the scene where Tygan explained his research on the chip, there's a picture on the screen showing that the chip is implanted from behind.

** Perhaps the Cyberdisks ARE the Gatekeepers. It's never really revealed in Enemy Unknown if the Cyberdiscs are wholly mechanical or not. Maybe there is an organic component, and that was re-engineered by the aliens using human DNA to create the Gatekeepers. We know [[spoiler: the Ethereal's endgame is to create psionically powerful Avatars to house their consciousnesses, and defeat their species-wide deterioration. Perhaps the Gatekeepers were one of the experiments leading into the Avatar Project, seeing just how adaptable human genetics were, and just how far humans could be pushed psionically.]]

** Perhaps the Cyberdisks ARE the Gatekeepers. It's never really revealed in Enemy Unknown if the Cyberdiscs are wholly mechanical or not. Maybe there is an organic component, and that was re-engineered by the aliens using human DNA to create the Gatekeepers. We know [[spoiler: the Etherals endgame is to create psionically powerful Avatars to house their consciousnesses, and defeat their species-wide deterioration. Perhaps the Gatekeepers were one of the experiments leading into the Avatar Project, seeing just how adaptable human genetics were, and just how far humans could be pushed psionically.]]

* Where did all the cyberdisc's go? Not a single one appears in the game, with no explanation for their disappearance.

** It's also shown that [[spoiler: the Commander was kidnapped when the aliens attacked the XCOM Base. This means that XCOM didn't fall because the Commander was a GeneralFailure, but because XCOM was turned into a DecapitatedArmy after the Commander was kidnapped (and it's likely the rest of its manpower got chewed up and spat out in the defense as well).]]

** Presumably, the Commander was a distinguished soldier and officer before the invasion even began - they wouldn't hand XCOM's reins over to some unproven supply officer. What progress they made before the aliens won probably only cemented their reputation.

** Given how NintendoHard Enemy Unknown/Within was, presumably the Commander making any headway at all is seen as nothing short of miraculous. [[spoiler: Certainly the aliens thought highly enough of him/her to integrate his/her mind into their psionic network to utilize his/her tactical skills and knowledge.]]

* The PlayerCharacter integration to the story is great but it makes me wonder, who is he this guy In-universe? Since X-com failed in this universe his reputation as HopeBringer and WorthyOpponent must come from before. Unless of course in that reality you got perfect rating in all mission before the aliens captured you.

** They have been retired like the old model of Sectopod.

** Cyberdisks have been replaced by the Gatekeepers. They have a lot of similarities - the armor shell that opens and closes, massive HP for a flying unit, a combination of targeted and area attacks, and even the general AI behavior.

* Where did all the cyberdisc's go? Not a single one appears in the game, with no explanation for their disappearance.

* In the final cutscene. [[spoiler: How did the resistance fighters at the check point pick up Advent guns? Didn't a research project explicitly state that doing so caused, in some cases lethal, damage? Isn't this the exact reason you can't do so in-game?]]

*** If you look closely, the Skyranger appears to be a heavily modified version of the same transports ADVENT used to land reinforcements. Presumably at some point they stole one, retrofitted and repainted it, and named it after the old Skyranger because they couldn't exactly keep calling it 'ADVENT Dropship' without confusing everyone as to which was friend and which was foe.

*** That, and Firebrand's Skyranger could be the prototype or a different model than the one we used in the first game, sacrificing range for speed and maneuverability (how else do you think she's capable of safely escaping ADVENT interceptors and anti-air when she's extracting you?).

** Why the crew are still wearing their flag on their back or using Central codename even though his grade and occupation kind of changed? Lot is made so that X-com looked like it still alive while actually it's just a remnant of what it once was to keep morale.

** Why still wearing their flag on their back? Lot is made so that X-com looked like it still alive while actually it's just a remnant of what it once was.

* The Skyranger. It's completely different from the previous iteration, seeming to incorporate some alien technology, but it has a dramatically shortened range, and bears no physical resemblance to the original (aside from being a capable troop transport.) So why still bother calling it a Skyranger?

** It is not too implausible considering that during the event of XCOM: Bureau Declassified, the American government managed to build an elerium power system hidden right under the Hover Dam back in 1962. If an earth government could cover something that big, what can the Alien do?

** It is not too implausible considering that during the event of XCOM: Bureau Declassified, the American government managed to build a elerium power system hidden right under the Hover Dam back in 1962. If an earth government could cover something that big, what can the Alien do?

* How did the aliens manage to construct such an extensive facility [[spoiler: at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean]] without anyone getting wise? Even with the world government being controlled by Advent, a project of that scale would be impossible to cover up.