With the Epic Games Store offering XCOM 2 for free in April 2022, there may be some new players to the fantastic strategy game. XCOM 2 challenges players to command their forces in tense turn-based combat while also managing a military base while not on missions. There are multiple layers of strategy to be found in XCOM 2 and nearly all of it is driven by a single resource: supplies. There are a few different in-game currencies, but supplies are the most used.
Because supplies are so fundamental to game progress, it's important for new players to figure out how to get them. There are a few different ways of obtaining supplies. Some are more effective than others, and players should note that always hunting supplies isn't the best way to beating XCOM 2. That said, players won't get far without an ample stash of supplies either!
Supply Drops
Supply drops act as a nearly guaranteed way to get supplies. Players will receive a supply drop at the beginning of each new month. The drop will have more or fewer supplies in it based on the player's performance in the previous month. Performance is dictated by Shadow Project progress, successful missions, and construction/destruction of alien bases. Players will meet with the last council member at the end of each month, and a supply drop will appear on the map after the meeting.
Like most ways of gathering supplies, supply drops are collected in the "tactical" portion of the game, when players maneuver their ship around the map to investigate disturbances, collect items, or engage in missions. The "combat" layer of the map has supply gathering, but it is very minimal compared to the methods in the tactical layer. Supply drops are the most common way to get large bunches of supplies at once and will be marked by a deep green icon on the tactical map.
Selling At The Black Market
Throughout a campaign, players will gather plenty of items from combat. Most of these items have a purpose back on base. For example, alien alloys are used to construct more advanced weapons and armor. Alien corpses can be autopsied to create unique items that players can bring into combat. Once a new technology has been discovered though, some of these items gathered in the field begin to lose value.
Players looking to make a quick buck can sell these items on the black market. The black market is definitely not the ideal way to gain supplies in XCOM 2 as sales don't go for much and players lose items that they can often use for better things. In a pinch though, the supplies gained from selling excess items can buy a medkit or mind-shield that just might save a soldier's life!
Supply Raids
Supply raids are a type of mission in XCOM 2 where players have to mark crates for extraction before the aliens can mark them. The more crates a player's ground forces mark, the more supplies the base back home gets. Keep in mind that some of these crates will be positioned in absolutely horrible spots for soldiers to mark. They will be exposed and flanked by alien forces and more often than not will take a hit or even perish.
These missions can gain a lot of supplies for a player, but they can also come at a big cost. Losing a veteran soldier can definitely be felt through the rest of the campaign. As such, if a player is determined to gather more crates than the enemy and is willing to sacrifice units to do so, the unit should be a lower level or even a rookie if possible. It won't be an easy choice to make, but XCOM 2 is full of difficult strategic decisions that have to be made.
Mission Rewards
Every mission in XCOM 2 comes with its own rewards. Players will often have a choice among two or three missions on the map at any given time. Only one of these missions can be accepted. The other missions, unless story-related, will disappear after the completion of the selected mission. Each mission will have a lot tied to it. It will have a difficulty rating, a set of rewards, and sometimes even counter alien plans.
All of these factors must come into play when a player is selecting a mission. What can they take on? What forces do they have? Which set of rewards is the best? Oftentimes, players will be rewarded with supplies for completing a mission. This is always a solid option for gathering supplies because it also helps level up the soldiers.
Covert Operations
For players with the War of the Chosen DLC, a new layer of strategy will be opened via covert ops. Covert operations center around three new factions introduced to the XCOM universe. These three factions are all partnered with XCOM and will carry out missions for the organization. Completing these missions improves bonds with the selected faction, allowing new perks and buffs to be unlocked.
Some covert ops will result in players gathering supplies (if the mission is completed successfully). The majority of these missions are out of the player's control. There will be a base percentage of success for the covert op, and it will run in the background while the player manages the tactical and combat layers of the game. So, if there are no better covert operations at hand, gathering supplies via one of the AI-controlled factions is always an option.
Clearing Alien Debris
The most reliable and guaranteed way of gathering supplies and alien alloys is to clear alien debris on the Avenger, the player's ship and base. Clearing alien debris is a fundamental part of progressing the game, as it is necessary for players to construct new rooms. Players will need available engineers to clear the debris and as the rooms get deeper and deeper into the Avenger, these cleaning tasks will take longer and longer.
Players will always get a hefty chunk of supplies from a cleared room though, and this is one of the best ways to gather supplies in XCOM 2 while completing other objectives. Chasing supply drops or the black market on the tactical map won't complete missions, which is necessary to win the game. Players can always clear alien debris while searching out new missions. The supplies will come from the debris eventually!
XCOM 2 is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Mobile devices.