History Heartwarming / XCom2

*** Bonus points if the pairing is two Faction Heroes. The Factions all hate each other, but two of their operatives nonetheless worked together, and became friends, in order to defeat ADVENT. RivalsTeamUp at its finest.

* Giving a SPARK Julian's voice is strangely heartwarming. During the entire "Chen's Last Gift" mission, he's ranting about how badly he wants to be the one who dons SPARK's body. Lily actually obliges. Yes, he's enforced into being loyal, but he ''did'' get what he wanted, and he's allowed to retain his snarky personality, so he's not brainwashed.

* Another ''War of the Chosen'' addition is the Photobooth, where you can take photos of your soldiers at the end of missions, when they get promoted, or when they become Bonded. These appear in-game in the form of posters on the ''Avenger'' and in resistance havens, like you'd expect, but you can also find such posters on tucked-away walls in ADVENT-controlled city centers. Even where the alien regime is at its strongest, XCOM still has supporters cheering you on and urging others to join the fight.

** [[spoiler:The Templars, however, subvert the trope, and merely give a GenreSavvy SequelHook, opting for the BadassBoast instead.]]

--> '''Bradford:''' "[[HesBack It's damn good to have you back, Commander]]."
* [[spoiler: At the start of the final level, as the Commander is about to be uploaded into the Avatar, they lean their head from the operating table to look at Bradford, as if to reassure him they'll be alright. Bradford's telling the Commander to "[[DareToBeBadass Give 'em hell.]]" also counts.]]
* Bradford's relationship with the Commander in general, really. After 20 years apart keeping X-Com going from the shadows, his sheer joy and gratitude at getting the Commander back, a feat he put his life on the line to achieve, is just constantly reassuring. Later on, Bradford tries to [[spoiler:veto having the Commander be the operator of X-Com's Avatar]], because ''any'' risk to the Commander's life, no matter how small, is too great.
* The second-to-last cutscene in the game: [[spoiler: Advent is in full retreat, but still controls the city centers where a curfew is in effect. An X-com operative cuts the Advent propaganda with a simple message]].
--> '''X-com operative:''' "[[spoiler: To all of you in the occupied zones - hold your ground, [[DoNotGoGentle continue the fight]]. [[YouAreNotAlone We promise you, help is on the way.]]]]"

--> '''Council Spokesman:''' "Commander, I admire the effort you and your team put into rescuing a fellow soldier. The resistance will see this as a sign of your dedication and loyalty. Congratulations on your success."
* The achievement name for finishing improving the Avenger? "Shen's Legacy".

* If soldiers are wounded during a mission, they are put in beds in the Advanced Warfare Center. If you zoom in, you can often see them being visited by their colleagues, who try to cheer them up (if their wounds are light) or look at them with sadness, shaking their heads (if they are badly hurt).
* In the Alien Hunters DLC, as soon as XCOM detects a signal that indicates Dr Vahlen might still be alive, Bradford insists on personally joining the mission to bring her back safely. After all, that's what he did for the Commander.
* Just before the final mission, after [[spoiler: the Commander's consciousness has been uploaded to the Avatar]], you get a first person shot of a walk through a hallway, with your best soldiers standing on either side, saluting as you pass.
* Dr. Shen's last message to Lily, left with the SPARK prototype.
-->'''Dr. Shen:''' This prototype has been coded with one specific task. It will protect you, perhaps better than I ever could. For all I have seen and accomplished in my life Lily, there is one thing that I know for sure: You are my greatest gift to this world.

** This mechanic will be expanded upon in the upcoming War of the Chosen expansion pack, where soldiers with a high relationship value will gain benefits during combat if they are in close proximity to each other.

* Soldiers are shown socializing with one another on the Avenger. However, this ''isn't'' just window dressing; the game actually tracks the [[RelationshipValues relationships between each soldier]], based on factors like how many missions they've been on together, who has healed who, [[StabTheScorpion shooting enemies flanking them]], and carrying unconscious soldiers out of battle. It then matches those soldiers up while on the Avenger. So when you see soldiers laughing and talking in the bar or exercising together in the guerilla warfare school, it's because those soldiers have ''actually'' become FireForgedFriends in battle.

* Soldiers are shown socializing with one another on the Avenger. However, this ''isn't'' just window dressing; the game actually tracks the [[RelationshipValues relationships between each soldier]], based on factors like how many missions they've been on together, who has healed who, [[StabTheScorpion shooting enemies flanking them]], and carrying unconscious soldiers out of battle. So when you see soldiers laughing and talking in the bar or exercising together in the guerilla warfare school, it's because those soldiers have become FireForgedFriends in battle.

* Soldiers are shown socializing with one another on the Avenger. However, this ''isn't'' just window dressing; the game actually tracks the [[RelationshipValue relationships between each soldier]], based on factors like how many missions they've been on together, who has healed who, [[StabTheScorpion shooting enemies flanking them]], and carrying unconscious soldiers out of battle. So when you see soldiers laughing and talking in the bar or exercising together in the guerilla warfare school, it's because those soldiers have become FireForgedFriends in battle.

-->'''Dr. Shen:''' This prototype has been coded with one specific task. It will protect you, perhaps better than I ever could. For all I have seen and accomplished in my life Lily, there is one thing that I know for sure: You are my greatest gift to this world.

-->'''Dr. Shen:''' This prototype has been coded with one specific task. It will protect you, perhaps better than I ever could. For all I have seen and accomplished in my life Lily, there is one thing that I know for sure: Yo are my greatest gift to this world.

* Just before the final mission, after [[spoiler: the Commander's consciousness has been uploaded to the Avatar]], you get a first person shot of a walk through a hallway, with your best soldiers standing on either side, saluting as you pass.

* If soldiers are wounded during a mission, they are put in beds in the Advanced Warfare Center. If you zoom in, you can often see them being visited by their colleagues, who try to cheer them up (if their wounds are light) or look at them with sadness, shaking their heads (if they are badly hurt).

* If soldiers are wounded during a mission, they are put in beds in the Advanced Warfare Center. If you zoom in, you can often see them being visited by their colleagues, who try to cheer them up (if their wounds are light) or look at them with sadness, shaking their heads (if they are badly hurt).
* A minor one, but this trooper found a new person with the name . . . Ye Shen. This appears to be long-lost relative of Lilly Shen, as an in-game set of documentation says Lilly is an only child. Ye is an engineer, so this confirms that engineering talent runs in the Shen family.

* The achievement name for finishing improving the Avenger? "Shen's Legacy"

* A minor one, but this trooper found a new person with the name . . . Ye Shen. This appears to be long-lost relative od Lilly Shen, as an in-game set of documentation says Lilly is an only child. Ye is an engineer, so this confirms that engineering talent runs in the Shen family.

* If soldiers are wounded during a mission, they are put in beds in the Advanced Warfare Center. If you zoom in, you can often see them being visited by their colleagues, who try to cheer them up (if their wounds are light) or look at them with sadness, shaking their heads (if they are badly hurt).

* Completing a mission without losing any of your operatives. Your operatives are tired and most likely wounded, but they smile at each other and are relieved that all of them are returning home.

* Completing mission without losing any of your operatives. Your operatives are tired and most likely wounded, but they smile at each other and are relieved that all of them are returning home.

* Completing mission without losing any of your operatives. Your operatives are tired, but they smile at each other and are relieved that all of them are returning home.

* Going to the memorial and seeing the message "No deceased soldiers." It's [[NintendoHard tricky]] to pull off (unless you resort to SaveScumming, [[YouMonster cheater]]) but damn if it doesn't feel good. Bonus points if [[TeamDad Bradford]] is in the bar, [[AFatherToHisMen hanging out with the rest of the grunts]]. Even more bonus points if he's actually [[ObsessiveCompulsiveBarkeeping tending bar]].

* The achievement name for finishing improving the Avenger? "Shen's Legacy"

* If an operative gets captured during a timed-extraction mission [[NoOneLeftBehind there's a chance to get a mission where a squad frees them from captivity]].

--> '''X-com operative:''' "[[spoiler: To all of you in the occupied zones - hold your ground, [[DoNotGoGentle continue the fight]]. [[YouAreNotAlone We promise you, help is on the way.]]]]"