Utility items | Soldier equipment XCOM 2 Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Man does not live by grenades and ammo alone, and the game offers a wide range of utility items, which will surely come in handy on numerous occasions. Just like the items described in the previous chapters, utility items are equipped in the same slot that your soldiers carry grenades in normally - to double the number of slots available, you will need to equip your units with medium armor (Predator, Warden). Additionally, as always, your soldiers can't carry two identical items at the same time.
A full list of all the researches and projects required to unlock a given utility item can be found in the "New technology" chapter, as well as in the following table.
Available utility items
Name | Description | Cost | Requirements |
Hazmat Vest | Increases the health points of the soldier by 2. Gives immunity to fire, poison and acid. | 1x Elerium Core | Experimental Armor (project) |
Hellweave | Increases the health points of the soldier by 2. Melee attacks on the soldier ignite the target, dealing damage over time. | 1x Elerium Core | Chryssalid Autopsy (research) |
Nanoscale Vest | Increases the health points of the soldier by 1. | 30x Supplies 2x Advent Trooper Corpse | Hybrid Materials (research) |
Plated Vest | Increases the health points of the soldier by 2. Increases the armor of the soldier by 1. | 1x Elerium Core | Experimental Armor (project) |
Stasis Vest | Increases the health points of the soldier by 2. Regenerates 2 health points each turn, up to a maximum of 8 health points. | 1x Elerium Core | Experimental Armor (project) |
Battle Scanner | Gives vision of the specified area, revealing any hidden enemies at the same time. Additionally, reveals all Faceless enemies in the area. | 30x Supplies | Advent Trooper Autopsy (research) |
Mindshield
| Renders the wearer immune to psionic-induced status effects, such as panic, mind control, disorientation. Soldiers can still be damaged by psionic abilities. | 45x Supplies 1x Sectoid Corpse | Sectoid Autopsy (research) |
Mimic Beacon | Creates an identical copy of the soldier using it. The copy has the same amount of health and armor as the original. The copy cannot attack, but it attracts enemy attention. | 50x Supplies 2x Faceless Corpse | Faceless Autopsy (research) |
Medikit | Heals 4 health points. Stabilizes the target, removing poison, acid and fire effects. 1 charge. The soldier wielding the item is immune to poison. | 35x Supplies | none |
Nanomedikit | Heals 6 health points. Stabilizes the target, removing poison, acid and fire effects. 1 charge. The soldier wielding the item is immune to poison. | 50x Supplies 1x Viper Corpse | Battlefield Medicine (research) |
Overdrive Serum | Increases the mobility of the soldier, gives immunity to psionic-induced status effects and decreases received damage. The effect lasts for 2 rounds. A 1-time only item - disappears permanently upon usage. | 35x Supplies 1x Berserker Corpse | Berserker Autopsy (research) |
Skulljack | Allows the soldiers to hack enemies, granting access to Intel, or giving you a random alien facility lead. A story-related item. Enemies struck by Skulljack are immediately killed, regardless of their health and the result of hacking. After completing the "Skullmining" research, the HACK attribute of the soldier wielding it is increased by 25 points. | 50x Supplies | Proving Ground (facility) |
Please note the following:
- Additional armors (Hazmat Vest, Plated Vest, Nanoscale Vest, Stasis Vest and Hellwave) are extremely situational items, which are in general less effective than the rest of the items of the group, not to mention grenades and / or ammo. Those are worth using only when you lack any better items to equip your soldiers with.
- Mimic Beacon is an extremely effective tool used to distract enemies, which is even more valuable on higher difficulty levels. After activating, an ideal copy of the soldier using it will appear on the battlefield, and the enemies will focus fire on the decoy. It's even more useful when you accidentally attract attention of more than 1 group of enemies at the same time. You should always have at least 1 Mimic Beacon at your disposal.
- Medikit and Nanomedikit are best given to a Specialist-class soldier, with the Medical Protocol ability. Thanks to that, the soldier will have an increased amount of healings that he / she will be able to perform on the battlefield, not to mention the ability to use them from a huge distance. Poison immunity is the icing on the cake.
- Skulljack is another item that you should equip your Specialist soldier with, as it increase the HACK attribute by 25 points. The item itself allows you to "Skullmine" a soldier, gaining Intel or a random alien facility lead - aside from that, it's a one-shot-one-kill item, eliminating the enemy you used it on after the process ends.
- Battle Scanner is useful when you want to scan the area that is shrouded in the fog of war, especially building rooftops and you don't want to attract any unwanted attention. Additionally, it's a perfect tool against camouflaged enemies - Faceless enemies will be instantly revealed and Chryssalids will be pulled out of the ground. This item should be given to a Sharpshooter-class soldier, who will in most cases be too far away from the target to hurt it with a grenade either way.
- Mindshield is a perfect item for your Rangers, who will almost always be running between a group of enemies. Thanks to that, they will be immune to psi abilities of the Sectoid, as well as the mind-controlling ability of the Avatar.
- Overdrive Serum gives a huge boost to various stats, but the item is extremely situational, the effect lasts only 2 rounds and the item is permanently lost once used. You can find at least several better items to use the limited utility slot space.