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Changelog

All notable changes to Ability Editor are documented here. The mod lets you redefine XCOM 2 (War of the Chosen) abilities entirely from .ini config - no scripting, no rebuilds. See the README for the full field reference.

This project follows Keep a Changelog and Semantic Versioning.

[Unreleased]

Added

  • Selectors pick which object of a class an entry targets. Index on a cost, effect, condition or trigger entry counts matches of the class from 0, so the second X2Effect_ApplyWeaponDamage is Index=1. MatchEffectName on an effect entry selects a persistent effect by its EffectName; MatchEventID on a trigger entry selects an event listener by the event it waits for. A key wins over Index; a selector that matches nothing counts as "not present", so Merge adds and Remove does nothing. Before, only the first object of a class could be edited or removed.

    ; Bladestorm has three event listeners; this edits only the one that reacts to attacks
+AbilityEdits=( \\
    Ability=BladestormAttack, \\
    Triggers=( ( Class="X2AbilityTrigger_EventListener", Mode=eAEM_Merge, MatchEventID=AbilityActivated, \\
                 SetListenerPriority=true, ListenerPriority=40 ) ) \\
)

  • Every edited ability is checked before the game validates it, not only created ones. An entry that strips the last trigger or the target style from an existing ability now gets the same plain-words log line as a blank ability would.

  • Bridge editors can be extensions. One extension adds a field to a class and all of its subclasses, including classes other bridges edit.

  • Alien Hunters support, through a bridge mod. AbilityEditorAlienHunters adds editors for X2Effect_DLC_Day60Freeze (the freeze durations and the ruler freeze counts), X2Effect_DLC_Day60TurnStartRemoveActionPoints and the ruler OnAbilityActivated trigger's exclusion lists. Their config fields are ordinary EffectEdit/TriggerEdit fields; DLC classes are named with their package, Class="DLC_2.X2Effect_DLC_Day60Freeze".

  • Bridge mods are documented on this site and in the config builder. generate-docs.ps1 -Bridge <mod> writes a fragment under docs/bridges/ that the normal run merges into schema.json; the reference pages show which bridge provides a class and what it requires, and the config builder lists bridge classes with their package name.

  • Abilities can be created from config. Create=true on an +AbilityEdits entry makes the ability instead of finding it, then applies the rest of the entry to it. Start from a copy of an existing ability with CloneFrom - the copy is independent, so editing it never changes the original - or from a blank template shaped by Preset (eACP_Standard, eACP_MoveEnd or eACP_Passive). The log explains anything the game's validation would reject.

    ; Slash, but for two action points and under another name
+AbilityEdits=( \\
    Ability=SwordSlice_Heavy, Create=true, CloneFrom=SwordSlice, \\
    SetFriendlyName=true, FriendlyName="Heavy Slash", \\
    CostMode=eACEM_Merge, \\
    Costs=( ( Class="X2AbilityCost_ActionPoints", Mode=eACEM_Merge, SetNumPoints=true, NumPoints=2 ) ) \\
)

    Granting it to units is left to mods made for that, such as Repurpose Abilities, Weapon Skin Replacer or Template Master; they only need to run after Ability Editor. See Create an ability.

  • Thirteen more template fields: the display text (FriendlyName, LongDescription, HelpText, FlyOverText), TargetingMethod, CinescriptCameraType, AbilityConfirmSound, ActivationSpeech, CustomFireAnim, SkipFireAction, ShowActivation, SkipMoveStop and FrameEvenWhenUnitIsHidden. They apply to existing abilities too, so an ability can be renamed from config.

  • Damage-over-time effects can now be retuned. A persistent effect is only the state; what it does each turn lives in a child effect inside its ApplyOnTick list. Editing X2Effect_Burning reached its duration but never its damage, which sits in a nested X2Effect_ApplyWeaponDamage. Three new EffectEdit keys — ApplyOnTickClass, ApplyOnTickIndex and ApplyOnTickMode - redirect an entry at that child, so the rest of the entry edits it instead.

    ; Molotov burn ticks for 5 (+/-2) instead of its usual damage
+AbilityEdits=( \\
    Ability=ThrowMolotov, \\
    Effects=( \\
        ( Class="X2Effect_Burning", Mode=eAEM_Merge, \\
          ApplyOnTickClass="X2Effect_ApplyWeaponDamage", ApplyOnTickMode=eAEM_Merge, \\
          WeaponDamageValue=(SetDamage=true, Damage=5, SetSpread=true, Spread=2) ) \\
    ) \\
)

    This is not specific to burning. It reaches every vanilla effect that uses the pattern - poisoned, bleeding, parthenogenic poison, Steady Hands, Void Conduit, the evac delay and Alert Mechanics - and modded ones too.

  • A documentation site at boundir.github.io/AbilityEditor, built with mkdocs-material and published by GitHub Actions. Game classes haves their own page with a guessable URL (/reference/effects/x2effect_achilles/), so a link can point at one class instead of one page documentation.

  • A config builder at boundir.github.io/AbilityEditor/app. Pick an ability, tick the fields, get the +AbilityEdits entry - with the mode-default and missing-Set mistakes flagged before the game silently ignores them. Paste an existing entry in to check it.

  • Fifteen more effect editors and one condition editor. X2Effect_ApplyAcidToWorld, ApplyPoisonToWorld, ApplySmokeToWorld, ApplySmokeGrenadeToWorld (particle systems); Fortress, DeadeyeDamage, AlertTheLost; Solace, CombatStims, ChryssalidBurrowedAttack, BondmateAimAdjust, BondmateBleedout, MimicBeacon; ModifyStatCheckSuccesses, TemplarFocus, GrantActionPointsWithRecord, OverrideDeathAction; and X2Condition_GameTime. Struct-array fields such as TemplarFocus.FocusLevels take the game's own structs:

    ; Templars start at +1 Mobility on focus level 0
+AbilityEdits=( \\
    Ability=TemplarFocus, \\
    Effects=( \\
        ( Class="X2Effect_TemplarFocus", Mode=eAEM_Merge, FocusLevelsMode=eNAEM_Merge, \\
          FocusLevels=( (StatChanges=((StatType=eStat_Mobility, StatAmount=1.0)), ArmorMitigation=0, WeaponDamage=0) ) ) \\
    ) \\
)

  • Every config key now has a description on the reference pages and in docs/schema.json.

Changed

  • Fields renaming: AcidParticleSystem1Tile … AcidParticleSystem4TilesReverseS, PoisonParticleSystem, SmokeParticleSystem, and OverrideParticleSystem in place of OverrideParticleSystemFill_Name.

Removed

  • Five effect fields that never did anything, because the game reads them from the class default rather than the ability: ReaperActivatedName, ReaperKillName (X2Effect_Reaper), LookAtDuration (X2Effect_ScanningProtocol), ParthenogenicPoisonType and ParthenogenicPoisonCocoonSpawnedName. The Reaper and ScanningProtocol editors went with them; both classes still take the shared persistent-effect fields.

Fixed

  • An Effects entry whose Mode was left at its default wiped the list and added nothing when the ability already had an effect of that class. The entry then silently did nothing else either. The conditions and triggers helpers were not affected.

  • X2Effect_KillUnit now takes DeathActionClass. Its editor extended the persistent-effect editor instead of the death-action one, so the field was ignored.

  • A TargetingMethod that fails to load now keeps the ability's existing targeting method and logs the failure. Before, the template was left with no targeting method and the ability could not be used.

  • The effects helper compared its mode against the cost enum's tags; it now uses its own. Removing an effect, clearing an effect list, and an unresolvable effect class are logged like the other families.

  • The log line for ApplyCooldownType named the wrong field. AbilityEventListenerEdits changes are now logged.

  • Replace-only array fields no longer advertise a mode field that doesn't exist. The reference tables listed HitModifiersMode and EffectHitModifiersMode in the "Requires" column for ToHitCalcEdit.HitModifiers and EffectEdit.EffectHitModifiers. Neither field exists - both arrays are replace-only - so anyone who wrote them was silently ignored. They now render as "non-empty (replace-only)". This affected 11 entries in docs/schema.json too, so any tooling consuming the schema inherited the same wrong information.

Added

  • Ability template fields in docs/schema.json now carry type and description. Previously all 46 had neither, and consumers had to join against the AbilityEdit struct to recover the type.
  • generate-docs.ps1 -PrintSourceHash prints the hash of the UnrealScript sources and exits. It needs no SDK, so CI can compare it against sourceHash in the committed schema to catch a forgotten regeneration.

Documentation

  • Corrected the field-documentation convention: a // comment must sit directly above the value var, not above the Set/value pair. A comment above the pair attaches to the guard and is dropped, which is why 219 existing comments act as section headers rather than field docs.
  • A Why isn't this editable? page records the game fields that do not have an editor and the reason for each - mostly fields the game reads from the class default, which are tunable globally in the game's own ini.

[2.0.0] - 2026-07-10

A ground-up rewrite. The old options still work, but there's now a single, consistent +AbilityEdits config that can reach almost every part of an ability.

Added

  • New unified config API. Edit any ability by adding an +AbilityEdits=(...) entry under [AbilityEditor.X2DLCInfo_AbilityEditor] in XComAbilityEditor.ini. One entry can change as much or as little of an ability as you like.

  • Costs - action points, ammo, charges, focus, "consume item", and the special reserve/heavy-weapon/quickdraw action-point costs. Add, remove, or tweak them per ability.

    ; Let Ranger's Slash keep the turn going (1 point, don't end turn) for Blademaster users
+AbilityEdits=( \\
    Ability=SwordSlice, \\
    Costs=( \\
        ( Class="X2AbilityCost_ActionPoints", SetNumPoints=true, NumPoints=1, \\
          SetConsumeAllPoints=true, ConsumeAllPoints=false ) \\
    ) \\
)

  • Cooldowns & charges - set turn cooldowns (including separate XCOM/AI values and shared cooldowns with other abilities), initial charges, and bonus charges granted by other abilities.

  • Effects - change what an ability actually does: weapon damage, stat changes, stuns, armor, damage immunities, action-point grants, effect removal, covering fire, and dozens more. Every applicable in-game effect type is supported.

  • Conditions - control who and when an ability can affect: unit type, health, cover, range, alert status, active effects, inventory, visibility, and more. Attach them to the ability or to an individual effect.

    ; Make Combat Protocol only target robotic units
+AbilityEdits=( \\
    Ability=CombatProtocol, \\
    TargetConditions=( \\
        ( Class="X2Condition_UnitProperty", Mode=eAEM_Merge, \\
          SetExcludeOrganic=true, ExcludeOrganic=true ) \\
    ) \\
)

  • Aim & hit chance - edit an ability's to-hit calculation: built-in aim/crit modifiers, guaranteed hits, flat percent-to-hit, stat rolls, and more.

  • Targeting shape - change how an ability picks targets: single-target rules, cursor range, moving-melee reach, and area shapes (radius, cone, line, cylinder, burst, all-units).

  • Triggers - change what makes an ability fire (e.g. passive on spawn, event-driven).

  • Ability template settings - hostility, concealment rules, cross-class eligibility, passive/unique flags, HUD icon and color, tooltip/summary visibility, point cost, default item slot, friendly-fire warnings, added/prerequisite/override abilities, and more.

  • Flexible list editing. Wherever an ability has a list (costs, effects, conditions, damage types, ability names…), you choose how your entry combines with what's already there: replace all, merge, add-only, or remove.

  • Documentation. A complete, always-up-to-date field reference in the README, generated directly from the mod's code, plus a machine-readable docs/schema.json for tooling.

Changed

  • Edit in place by default. Ability Editor now changes only the fields you set and leaves everything else intact. For the single-object slots (cooldown, charges, to-hit, targeting), omit Class to tweak whatever the ability already uses, or set Class to swap in a different one.
  • The legacy options are unchanged and continue to work (see below), so existing configs keep functioning.

Fixed

  • Removing an ability's charges now works correctly.
  • Stat-change and duration effects (e.g. Persistent-based effects) now apply all of their settings as expected.
  • Per-player-type cooldowns (separate XCOM/AI turns) now apply correctly.

For mod authors

  • Extensible by other mods. Bridge mods can register their own editor classes to support abilities from DLC or other mods, without Ability Editor needing to know about them. Add your editor class via +ExtraEffectsEditors=(EditorClass="...", Priority=N) (and the equivalents for costs, cooldowns, charges, conditions, to-hit, targeting, and triggers). Details in the README's "Extending Ability Editor" section.

Notes

  • After changing config, clear the game's config cache (delete Documents\My Games\XCOM2 War of the Chosen\XComGame\Config) so your edits are picked up.
  • Turn on EnableDebug=true under [AbilityEditor.X2DLCInfo_AbilityEditor] to log every change the mod makes to Launch.log (tag AbilityEditor).

[1.x] - Earlier releases

The original configuration lived under [AbilityEditor.OPTC_Abilities] and supported a fixed set of per-ability tweaks: ammo cost, cooldown, action-point cost, ends-turn/free-action, consume-item, charges (and keep-on-miss), shared charges/cooldowns, added/prerequisite/override abilities, bonus charges, focus cost options, item slot, concealment rule, and cross-class eligibility. These options still work in 2.0.