Deacon Ivory's War of the Chosen Change Log

Update 4.0.0 (2023.05.20) Major update. Bitterfrost Protocol and Incindiary Grenade Damage Fix mods removed until the bugs can be worked out. Some new Redux mod updates from Rusty added with the originals being removed. Rusty's Lab/Wrokshop combo (R&D) has replaced Better Labratory. I've added some of Reishi's A Harder War (Requiem for Man) mods which means that things are going to a little bit more difficult. You can clearly disable them if you'd prefer. I also added Always Bleedout and disabled Alternate Bleedout Mechanics, for more of a "Death's Door" feel. You still have to stabalize bleeding out soldiers and carry them back to the evac, which has gotten more challenging with the addition of Request Evac. A Stronger Advent has also been added, feel free to disable that or modify the configs if ABA enemies get too difficult. Research Rework is a fun mod that forces players to perform Autopsys to advance the research in game. If you run modded enemies you need to edit the config to include their autopsys so that you gain the insight (it is all explained on the mod page and in the config files).

Overall I've made the Core a bit more difficult but there are some balancing mods that should even out the difficulty, as I've said before be EXTREMELY careful adding enemy mods, all it takes is 1-2 more modded enemies and your game can become unplayably difficult.

I'll be updating the other TDW collections in the coming days to keep things fresh. I am also preparing an All-in-One (AIO) Collection for players who want to play the way I play.

Update 3.0.2 (2023.03.03) Minor tweaking, I removed a couple of mods that I'd been testing, and added a couple new ones. Nothing earth shattering. There will be a bigger update soon when I release the Meta mod to go with The Deacon's War. I will aslo be releasing an All-In-One version that will include enemy, faction, DE, and a few other mods.

Update 3.0.1 (2022.06.14) I lied about it being the last update. :). I've tweaked the mod collection a bit, nothing dramatic and if you are mid-campaign there is not need to change anything unless you see something that interests you. I also added a new sub-collection for players just setting out on their modding journey.

Update 3.0.0 (2022.02.06) This is likely to be the final major edit for this group of collections. I've tested the core for about 400 hours over the past few months, and with a lot of help from the modders and players on the MEME, Odd, and XCOM2 Modding Discord servers I've reached a point where I'm ready to lock it. I'll update with all of my config edits (there are a ton, and I hope to create a Meta Mod soon so that they are easier to apply).

There are a few changes but the core itself hasn't changed much except for the inclusion of Grim Horizon, and swapping out will and health mods to finally get a satisfactory level of tired/shaken/wounded soldiers. Thanks to Stukov I am trying a few different configurations of ANCE and some other mods.

I play SO:CI exclusively now and so the core is slanted a bit in that direction. It will still work with RPGO but I'm not actively updating the collections for that mod. I don't imagine that I'll do any LWOTC collections, there are plenty of great ones already.

Here is a list of the mods that I am running in my current campaign: https://pastebin.com/iyYYsPJ9

I will update the other docs, and upload all of my config edits soon.

Key changes:

* I went back to Unrestricted Customization
* So I moved IAM and UCR to the Optional Collection, players can choose for them selves which works best for them.
* MOCX is EXALT is also a permanent addition
* I've trimmed my game down to PCP and a handful of single modded classes.
* For enemies I am running ABA with The Hive and a few other solo enemies.
* Sparks have been revamped a bit to work with the LASER classes
* Chosen have been made more challenging
* The Lost are finally a component in the game that is challenging and fun, i.e. it requires lots of config edits and mods
* Milita Overhaul Plus Plus replaces its previous iteration
* Removed Tactical Armory UI due to conflicts with a few mods
* To that point I've disabled most of Musashi's mods, not for any particular reason except that I wasn't really ever using them in game.
* Removed Impairment Rebalance (it was redundant)
* Removed [WOTC] Mission XP. Didn't need it.
* Added [WotC] Chimera Squad Style Stabilize to replace Stabilize Me.

Note: The Optional Misc. Mods collection is a bit of a dumpster fire at the moment. I use a handful of mods from that collection, but haven't cleaned it in ages. Be cautious with that thing.

Update 2.3.4 (2021.12.12) Added Less Unconscious War of the Chosen to supplement Impairment Rebalance WOTC. These mods can be added/removed during the campaign if you want to try them out. Removed Stabilize Me from the Additional Mod collection, it causes a ton of log spam and increases lag. I added it to my wish list of updated and optimized mods. I also added TeslaRage’s new [SOCI] Chain Rescue Resistance Leader mod to the Covert Infiltration collection. I’m currently testing the next version of Psionics Ex Machina, [WOTC] Non-Lethal Combat, MOCX is EXALT 1.1, and Interrogation and Recruitment. If all goes well they will be added (updated) to their respective collections. Swapped [WotC] Ruler Rework for Ruler Reactions Revised – WotC.

Update 2.3.3 (2021.12.12) Trying out both AM and UCR. They seem to work ok and it allows me to run AM configured soldiers aside my UC soldiers. More minor refining and it looks like [WOTC] Commander+ needs some added tweaks to balance it. Optional Collections got some love as well and I’ve expanded the use of Proficiency Classes.The Core Collection remains pretty stable and I don’t plan on any major changes going forward.This is likely the last bit of changes for 2.3 and so 3.0 will likely be the final version.

Update 2.3.2 (2021.12.01) Iridar’s Appearance Manager was included and Unrestricted Customization was disabled. Other minor tweaks.

Update 2.3.1 (2021.11.17) Quick update to remove a few mods that were made redundant by Community Highlander Changes. Thanks @Nor for the heads up

Update 2.3 (2021.11.14): Separate Deacon's War Core collections for Proficiency Classes, RPGO, and SO:CI have been created. Pick and choose the Add Ons as needed. Obviously PC and RPGO can't be run at the same time, otherwise you can mix and match collections.

Update 2.2 (2021.10.28): Finally figured out why my game was ridiculously easy no matter what the difficulty level . . . Make Heals Persist at its default settings was far too OP. I removed that mod, as well as some of the FL modifications, added A Better Campaign back in (removing Golden Path Missions Revamped temporarily), and tweaked DABFL to work well with ABC+. My game is now brutally hard and the balance is far better. This also means that I will be returning to SO:CI soon. I’ve added Still Stop Wasting My Time and shuffled enemies a bit, removing Bio Division and adding The Hive back in. My suggestion is to choose a couple of mods between the larger enemy overhauls (The Hive, Frost Legion, Bio Division, etc.) so that you don’t bottleneck your research.

Update 2.1.2 (2021.10.15): Returning to do some messing around with this collection. Updated Google Doc will be incoming. The Core is now more fully centered around ABA and RPGO and I've moved the factions, enemies, weapons, as well as all customizations to the optional specific collections. You can pick and choose your factions, additional enemies, weapons, and customizations. The hope is to solidify this as the actual solid foundation for a modded play-through. Biggest changes are with No Lost Head shots and Molotov Cocktails. I'll also be adding my config changes to the documentation (basically I tweaked the mod "WOTC without Lost"). A quick note that I've included Quick Soldier Info, Sensor Fences, and Narrative Control and they can be a bit touchy so if you have crashes on missions, or in the Avenger, try disabling these mods first.

Update 2.1.1 (2021.08.20): Removed the beta Accurate Mission Report mod and added the newly released version from the Strategy Overhaul team. I have started a Covert Infiltration Campaign and The Deacon's War - Covert Infiltration Edition is live but still undergoing testing so use at your own risk.

Update 2.1

The biggest change is that after completing a campaign and feeling like there were issues with pods and enemies in general, I realized that Mission Overhaul and Yellow Alert required a significant modification to work together. It explains a lot and there was also some commented out text in the Yellow Alert config files that needed to be enabled. So, I’ve removed Mission Overhaul and am setting forth again.

 I’ve updated the Enemies collection, added a few new mods to the Core collection, and greatly expanded the Optional collection.

 I spun the customizations and voice packs into a new collection to simplify things for players who have their own sizable collections of customizations.

 For my new campaign I’m adding Mission Mania and PGO back in as well as Mechtronic Warfare.

Just because I felt like I had strayed too far from ABA for my tastes, I’ve decided to run this campaign without the Hive or the Bio Division, clearly there is nothing amiss with either mod and they remain solid contributions to the Enemies collection.

I added a few Chosen mods to bump up the difficulty a bit, because I find them annoying [i]and[/i] boring. A terrible combination if you ask me.

I switched back to True Primary Secondaries and Ability to Slot Reassignment and will be testing that out

Some of the new mods that I will be trying to include:[WOTC] Research Rework, Elerium core Crafting,  and the new template master from Iridar.

Overall, my last campaign was a success, only three crashes and all of them were resolved with a save and reload. I did not get the Rulers or enough Sectopods, so i’m tweaking my mod list to remove some of the optional enemy mods..

Update 2.0

This is a sizable change in the collection that moves more mods out of the core and into a new
Deacon's War Optional Mods Collection . After many hours and lots of feedback I realized that some mod combinations require more tweaking and management than I'm able to provide at the moment.

Here are the most recent mods that were moved to the Optional Collection:

Mission Mania [WOTC] To be honest I love this mod, I just needed the strategy game to progress a little faster for testing. I will probably add it back in at some point.


Utility Slot Sidearms WOTC (replaced with Dedicated Pistol Slot)


Proving Ground Overhaul V2 and all of the bridges and companion mods. (I loved this mod setup but ended up having to tweak my set up and in the end it was too hard for me to manage. It is absolutely worth adding if you have the time to integrate everything properly)


Mechtronic Warfare (I just never found myself building SPARKS enough to make it worth it)


Extract Corpses (this was left over from my LWOTC runs and is not necessary when you are not forced to extract on nearly every mission)


Iridar's Underbarrel attachments (similar to Mechtronic I just never found myself building them)

New mods that I've added to the Optional list as well

Map [Dam], Map [Lost Neighborhood], Map [Forest], and Map [Cliffs]


[WOTC] XSkin by Iridar


[WOTC] Rustys Recruits Redux

These are new mods that I've added to the core collection. I also added [WOTC] Psionics Ex Machina 3.0 back in.

Robo-Squad Size Enhanced


[WOTC] Leviathan Extended Squad Size


[WOTC] Psionics Ex ShowMea

In the end which mods to include is much harder than I bargained for, the compatibility issues sometimes take many hours to appear and I've had three campaigns end after 20+ hours due to mod conflict and/or my inability to coordinate the required changes. My goal has always been to have a solid foundation and sadly that sometimes means that I have to leave out some spectacular work from my favorite mod authors out, or sometimes there is a clever little mod that I would love to promote that just causes a hiccup that I can't resolve.

I have restarted a campaign with the new list and will be monitoring it closely.

Thank you for your support.

Good Luck Commander

Update 1.3
In order to test some weirdness with Psionics and Psi Amps in particular I've removed Facilities+, [WOTC] Psionic Implants, and Cut Content Psionics [WOTC] from the collection temporarily, they were working but I may need to re-read all of the mod descriptions and check the config edits required for compatibility.


Removed Melee Lost Headshots and now only Standard shots can be headshots. The Lost were simply too easy


Added ADVENT Not Created Equal and CX Not Created Equal will be posting suggested ini edits.


Added [WOTC] Don't Pull that trigger after testing seemed to go well. If you install it keep your eyes open for weirdness with the Militia soldiers


Added AI Distributes Attacks [WOTC] and it appears to actually work well, it seems to help the AI not do stupid stuff quite so often.

Update 1.2
Removed Muton Elite because it is included in [WOTC] Alien Elite Pack


Added New Weapon Range Tables WOTC + LWOTC, ADVENT Not Created Equal WOTC, and CX Not Created Equal [WOTC] for added "Fun"


The Lost seem to be working better now without Poisonous Lost


Removed the ADVENT Forces Sitrep because I think that it was clashing with ABA and/or DAPBFL

Update 1.1
I suggest that players not include the optional enemies and sitreps collection unless they willing to test them out and choose for themselves. There have been some strange bugs reported using both collections. I've moved the "base" Raider Factions and Enemies back to this collection. So you have the option of running this collection and experiencing Multiple Sitreps.


Removed the following mods: No More Psi amps, and Poisonous Lost. Both seemed to cause some buggy behavior.


Streamlines the Google Doc a bit.