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Beam Grenade Launcher

• An all-new grenade launcher to devastate your enemies with! 💥
  
• Fires guided grenades - no hiding from this one! 🎯
  
• Goes great with other beam tier equipment - slick and fashionable! 👍

(compatible with the War of the Chosen expansion)


All hyperbole aside, I always found it odd that the game only features two tiers of grenade launchers instead of the usual three as is the case for most weapons and armors. What's worse, the magnetic tier grenade launcher clashes visually with the more advanced beam tier equipment, sticking out like a sore thumb.

To remedy this glaring oversight this mod provides a third tier of grenade launchers, complete with a custom model that is visually consistent with other members of the beam tier family of items.

On top of that, to make the new Beam Grenade Launcher a true upgrade over its predecessor, it fires guided grenades using the same targeting mechanism as the Blaster Launcher. This doubles as a range increase of sorts, making targets accessible that are out of direct line of sight. The ability applies to all items that typically are launched using grenade launchers, including Smoke Bombs and Ultrasonic Lures (but not Battle Scanners and Mimic Beacons, which are always thrown).

The upgrade is unlocked after researching Plasma Rifles and requires 1 Blaster Launcher to purchase (in addition to the usual Supplies/Alloys/Elerium costs).

Included in the mod are configuration files to customize the research requirements and resource costs of the weapon upgrade schematic, as well as an option to toggle the Blaster Launcher targeting method off.


This mod does not override any base classes and therefore should not cause mod conflicts of that sort.
Since the mod dynamically swaps out any instances of the LaunchGrenade ability on a unit when it is carrying the Beam Grenade Launcher, any mod that modifies this ability will likely get overridden.


Q: Does this mod work with vanilla XCOM 2?
A: Yes, it does.

Q: What about Long War 2?
A: Yes, the mod should with LW2 and other mods that provide new grenades in a similar fashion to LW2. The mod includes an LW2-specific item schematic to build individual grenade launchers - as with the vanilla X2 version the research requirements and resource costs can be adjusted via configuration file editing (see section below).

Q: Does this mod work with the War of the Chosen expansion? The mod launcher says it isn't compatible.
A: While the mod was built not to conflict with WotC, the new game launcher introduced in May 2020 will not permit using vanilla X2 mods in WotC.
There are two ways to work around this issue. One is to modify the mod configuration file located in the mod install directory to make it WotC-compatible. To do this, open the BeamGrenadeLauncher.XComMod file inside with a text editor (e.g. Notepad) and add the following line: The other option is to use the Alternative Mod Launcher[github.com] utility which serves as a replacement for the default game launcher and is much better at managing your installed mods.

Q: Engineering says I need a "Blaster Launcher" to build the grenade launcher upgrade? What is that and where do I get one?
A: The Blaster Launcher is a heavy weapon that is one of the possible results of the Experimental Powered Weapons project in the Proving Ground facility. You may need to try a few times to get one.
Alternatively, you can edit the mod configuration files to modify the upgrade costs to your liking.

Q: Blaster Launcher targeting is nice, but is that really all the weapon provides? I'd rather have it give extra range or blast radius.
A: While I feel that Blaster Launcher targeting in itself is like a range upgrade, I can see why you would like a little extra. Fortunately you're in luck, as with a bit of tinkering with configuration files you can set the range and/or radius bonuses to whatever you like (see section below).

Q: Blaster Launcher targeting is totally overpowered and makes the game too easy. I'd prefer it if the weapon had normal grenade targeting.
A: No problem, I've added a configuration toggle for exactly this purpose (see section below). Make sure to give the weapon some other bonus while you're at it, so it's more than a visual upgrade.


The mod provides a few configuration files so you can tailor your experience to your liking.
The configuration files are located in the mod install directory at
The relevant configuration files are as follows:

• XComGameData.ini, contains a toggle to disable the Blaster Launcher targeting effect provided by the weapon
  
• XComGameData_WeaponData.ini, contains parameters for the grenade launcher item's weapon range and grenade radius bonuses as well as parameters for the research requirements and purchase costs of the weapon's upgrade schematic
  
• XComLW_Overhaul.ini, contains parameters for configuring the LW2-specific weapon building schematic

• Sometimes soldiers will aim at odd angles when firing - this is a side-effect of the Blaster Launcher targeting method.

• Credit goes to -bg- for their Blaster Grenade Launcher mod by which the gameplay implementation of this mod is inspired.
  
• Further credits go to Arckange for the French translation and Papas con mojo for the Spanish translation.

Enjoy!