| “ | It appears the alien devices dropped during the First Invasion had a degenerative effect on these citizens, causing their physical and mental health to rapidly decay while maintaining primitive organic functions. Approach with caution, Commander. They are certainly dangerous. | ” |
–Richard Tygan | ||
The Lost are a new type of enemy introduced in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen.
Description[]
The Lost are mutated humans that are weak in nature, similar to Zombies or Psi Zombies. They have little strength on their own; their power comes from their sheer numbers.
The Lost are the victims of the bio-weapons used over the course of the original invasion during Alien Abductions. While the bio-weapons paved the way for ADVENT to clean up and re-create the new city centers, colonization after the invasion is still in progress over the course of XCOM 2. ADVENT deploys Purifiers in these abandoned cities to clear out The Lost in an effort to salvage resources and reclaim land.
The Lost come in swarms, and they will continue to spawn constantly on missions they appear on. Explosions will cause new swarms to appear faster, as The Lost are sensitive to sound. The Lost also take extra damage from fire-based weaponry.
The Lost are not affiliated to anything besides themselves; they will attack Aliens and ADVENT on missions they appear on if it is more convenient for them to do so.
Attacking any Lost unit with a Standard Shot triggers a mechanic called Headshot; killing a Lost with a standard shot does not cost an action. This means that a single soldier can kill multiple Lost in a single turn only limited by ammunition.
Pratal Mox refers to them as the "drak-tiin"
Tactics[]
- The Lost will only activate aliens when both pods are in sight of a squad member. The aliens will be active from this point and can attack your squad if they are unconcealed and the opportunity to flank or use an area attack exists.
- The Lost count as humanoid targets, meaning they are vulnerable to Justice, Void Conduit, pulling from Frostbite, and being resurrected as a Psi Zombie.
- The Lost are especially vulnerable to incendiary weapons. They take additional damage from Burning and will stop attacking while affected. Flamethrowers and Hellfire Projectors have a better chance to hit, and the leftover fires can block off incoming swarms. It's possible for a swarm to spawn directly on top of fire created in this way, making it worthwhile to launch Incendiary Grenades/Bombs at key choke points.
- The Lost cannot attack up ladders or across any full tile half-cover. High ground and store counters can be used to form a nigh impenetrable bunker, keeping in mind that anyone blocking a ladder within alien line of sight is likely to take a flanking shot.
- If the Headshot mechanic applies, the action will be labeled "Headshot" in the HUD. Certain sidearms (like the Templars' autopistol or Sharpshooter's pistol) can use Headshot and have unlimited ammo; this can be very effective for clearing out low-strength Lost or finishing off wounded ones.
- The Resistance Order "Between the Eyes" turns any hitting shot against the Lost regardless of damage into a Headshot, and it is indicated by a "Between the Eyes" pop-up on the HUD instead of a "Headshot" one.
- Despite being biological and having intelligence, all of The Lost are feral creatures and are immune to any attack that requires it to pass a Will test, such as the Psi Operative's Insanity or the SPARK's Intimidate.
- The Ultrasonic Lure forces The Lost to target anything within the blast radius. This can be used in conjunction with explosives to sic a swarm of them onto the aliens.
- Blademaster Rangers are especially useful against the Lost once they have the "Bladestorm" ability. Any Lost that try to attack Rangers with Bladestorm will be very likely killed, provided the attacks don't miss or they aren't a Lost Brute, which rarely dies in one hit ("Between the Eyes" do not triggers on melee attacks).
- Multiple Lost strikes count as a single attack for the purposes of Parry and Untouchable. This makes it possible to safely body block choke points.
- The Lost World Dark Event makes it so that any mission has a chance to feature the Lost.
- Explosions attract The Lost, but loud weapons do not. Flamethrowers, Shredder Guns, and Plasma Blasters do not attract swarms.
- Shots triggered by the Stock weapon upgrade (guarantees damage on missed shot) that result in a kill count as a "Headshot".
The Lost Units[]
- Lost: The standard Lost unit that makes up the bulk of Lost swarms. They're scattered around the initial map, and more can spawn in during a Lost Swarm.
- Lost Dasher: A faster variant that is spawned in when a Lost Swarm occurs. They will easily catch up to anyone that isn't making full length dashing moves to get away.
- Lost Brute: A tougher variant with a much larger health pool and damage range. While they don't have much mobility, their health pool means they can easily end a Headshot chain.
