Negative Traits are modifiers that can affect soldiers in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen.
Soldiers randomly may perform undesired actions under conditions that depend on the Negative Trait possessed (see below).
Negative Traits can be gained through combat when a soldier is wounded by a certain enemy, fails a certain action enough times, or simply obtains it naturally.
Negative Traits that involve taking a specific action can be avoided by taking an action that uses up all the unit's actions (i.e., dashing, firing, Overwatch, etc.). All Negative Traits are just a chance for their effects to be triggered — they are not guaranteed to activate.
Negative Traits can be cured in the Infirmary after it is built, having one soldier slot which will remove them from play for a base of 5 days (10 if playing Legend), with additional days added for each additional negative trait removed.
Negative Traits that can result in panic can be partially managed through by carrying a Mindshield, keeping their bondmate adjacent, or staying within the Psi Operative's Solace aura. A less effective mitigation can be achieved with the Mental Fortitude Continent Bonus, which will limit the panic to one turn.
Possible Negative Traits[]
Cautious[]
Also called Generalized Anxiety Disorder, the soldier has a chance to use their second action to Hunker Down after their first move action.
“Can you blame me for taking it slow?”
“I just get this feeling sometimes…like I should hide out for a while.”
Fear of Fire[]
Also called Pyrophobia, the soldier has a chance to panic when the soldier or a squad mate is burning. Can be obtained when they or their squad mate are severely wounded by fire, witness repeated fire injuries, or when increasing a soldier bond.
“I couldn't breathe, I was choking on the fumes.”
“It was the Purifiers...they didn't leave anything to chance.”
Fear of Missed Shots[]
Also called Atychiphobia, the solider has a chance to panic when missing a shot. May be obtained after the soldier misses too many shots or after raising a bond with another soldier.
“One missed shot, and you're dead…that's all it takes.”
Fear of Panic[]
Also called Phobophobia, the soldier has a chance to panic when an ally panics.
“If they're gonna freak out like that, so am I.”
Fear of Poison[]
Also called Toxophobia, the soldier has a chance to panic when the soldier or a squad mate is poisoned. Can be obtained when they or their squad mates are poisoned too often.
“She just kept screaming…it was already in her bloodstream…”
Fear of Psionics[]
The solider has a chance to panic when an ally takes damage from a Psionic attack, including friendly fire from a Psi Operative's Void Rift or Null Lance.
Fear of <enemy unit>[]
The soldier has a chance to panic when a specific type of enemy unit is spotted on the field. Can be obtained when the soldier is severely or repeatedly wounded by a specific unit, or from a Chosen's "Soldier Comms" sabotage. This trait's activation chance is checked only once per group of enemies revealed.
- Fear of The Chosen (Demonophobia): The Chosen can pursue a sabotage project to inflict this trait on several soldiers at once.
“It knew about us, about Commander.”
“They can find us, it doesn't matter where we run.”
“They don't die! Didn't you see it!?”
- Fear of The Lost (Kinemortophobia): Applies to all Lost variants.
“They were people once too, weren’t they?”
Obsessive Reloader[]
Also called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the soldier has a chance to use their second action to reload their weapon after their first movement action if their ammo is not full.
“To be honest, I can never keep my count straight. Better safe than sorry.”
Overly Aggressive[]
Also called Conduct Disorder, the soldier may fire directly on an enemy unit instead when activating Overwatch.
“We just need to show them who's boss around here.”