X-COM 2 LW2: Remove Mission Timer Countdowns – How to Change or Disable Extraction Time Limits in Long War 2

Explains in detail how to change or disable turn timers in XCOM 2 Long War 2 (LW2). A common complaint about XCOM 2 Long War 2 is that the turn timers are too harsh and limiting. With the default options you will likely find yourself rushing on a straight line to get to extraction point or objective before running out of time. If you do run out of time, you instantly lose the mission and all soldiers are captured. While it certainly adds a lot of suspense and urgency to the missions, this can stifle any strategic planning.

In my three or more Long War 2 campaigns I have found that adding a few extra turn timers allows you some strategic freedom while keeping the urgency.

Another option would be to install the mod True Concealment for LW2 – this mod makes it so the countdown won’t start until your squad is revealed. I found I didn’t like this because I tended to take way too much time at the beginning of a mission trying to get the perfect start. While definitely strategic and I think a decent balance, it became a bit tedious and slow for me.

Step 0: First, Get a Good Text Editor

First I would recommend installing Notepad++, a great free text editor. The Notepad built into Windows could work here, but is not ideal because the text in the files will look jumbled up and be harder to read.

• You can download Notepad++ at its official site here.

Step 1: Find and Open the XCOM 2 LW2 Steam Config Files

First ensure that your XCOM 2 game is closed completely. Make sure you have the latest Long War 2 patch already installed.  The change we are making here will be overwritten whenever you update Long War 2.

1. Use your File Explorer (My Computer, Windows Explorer, etc) to navigate to:
   • X:\[YOUR STEAM INSTALL LOCATION]\SteamLibrary\SteamApps\workshop\content\268500\844674609\Config
2. In that folder, find the below file (“XComLW_Overhaul.ini”), right click on the file, then click “Edit in Notepad++” (or your desired text editor).
   • XComLW_Overhaul.ini

Step 2: Edit the Default Turn Timer Value in the Config File

1. Press CONTROL+F on your keyboard to bring up the search and find function.
2. Do a search in the XComLW_Overhaul.ini file for the below line of text (it should be around line 1240):
   TimerDifficultyMod[0]=4;
3. Edit ONLY the last number before the semicolon.
   • There are four lines, one for each difficulty setting.
   • The difficulty setting is listed at the end of each line of text.
4. For example if you want to add 3 turns to all Veteran difficulty mission timers, change the line:
   • “TimerDifficultyMod[1]=1; Veteran”
     to:
     “TimerDifficultyMod[1]=4; Veteran”
5. Then save the file.

How Many Turns Should You Add?

I found adding about 3-4 turns was great for Veteran Difficulty, up to about 6 extra turns maximum. I would recommend the same for Commander and Legendary difficulties. For example, if playing on Veteran difficulty, the default value is “1” – I increase that to around 4 or sometimes 6. If you’re playing on Rookie, but have some X-COM 2 experience, I would only add 2-4 turns maximum or the timers will be so long that they will feel pointless.

How To Remove the Turn Timers in LW2 Completely?

On the other hand, if you simply hate the timers in general, you can add something like 20 or 40 turns to the value listed above to make them a complete non-factor. Personally I like that they force you to make decisions rather than spending 3 or 4 boring, tedious turns getting the “perfect” position. However everyone has their own preference so do what works for you.

There are mods to completely disable the turn timers from Vanilla, but I’m not currently seeing any to completely disable them in Long War 2. Most of the timer mods seem to only work in Vanilla X-COM 2. Adding a ton of turns to the timer works just as well, and you’ll be able to simply ignore the timers in missions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

• Q: Can you add timers in the middle of a campaign?
  A: Yes! You can safely do this in the middle of a campaign without affecting or corrupting your save game files. You can increase or decrease the turn limit values whenever you want. Just make sure X-COM 2 is closed before editing the files.
• Q: What happens if Long War 2 is updated (patched)?
  A: When Long War 2 is patched or updated, which may happen automatically via the Steam Workshop depending on your settings, the above change will likely be overwritten. You will have to do this again, but otherwise there will be no issue.