Character Upload Guide

Content Rules

Guidelines for user generated content on the XCOM Barracks follow a general rule: Do not submit content that is blatanly offensive or obscene beyond the general nature of XCOM 2. Violating this rule can and will result in your user account being banned from the XCOM Barracks, and it is up to the sole discretion of the XCOM Barracks moderators to determine what content is in violation.

Any character created using the XCOM 2 character creator may be uploaded to the XCOM Barracks. Character images should feature the character's in-game appearance. Notes, comments, and other text content should not be used for spam or advertising, and should be directly related to the context with which it is featured. For example, it is acceptable to include a link of a character's action montage on that character's profile. However, a link to the uploader's eBay profile would not be allowed.

If you have questions about the XCOM Barracks content rules or what is deemed appropriate, feel free to post on the XCOM Barracks subreddit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are my exported characters located?

You can find your exported character pools in the following local folder on your computer:
%USERPROFILE%/Documents/My Games/XCOM2/XComGame/CharacterPool/Importable
Each character pool is stored as a .bin file, which can be uploaded to the Barracks.

How do I import downloaded characters into my game?

Save any downloaded .bin files in to the same folder as the character pool export folder, i.e. %USERPROFILE%/Documents/My Games/XCOM2/XComGame/CharacterPool/Importable
Then, you will be able to view downloaded character pools in-game in the "Import Characters" menu. Note that, when importing characters, you must select the "Import Entire Pool" option (even for pools with a single character) for characters to appear correctly in your local pool.

Can I upload a pool containing multiple characters?

Not at the moment. We realize the upload process would be more convenient if pools containing multiple characters could be uploaded, but there are many technical obstacles that prevent us from supporting character pools with more than one character. For example, it would be difficult to enable users to download individual characters from a pool containing multiple characters, because character pool files store all characters together in a contiguous block of data.

How do I earn EXP?

Most site actions award EXP, including actions done by others for characters you've uploaded. Listed below are ways to earn EXP directly. Voting and leaving comments on characters are the easiest ways to earn EXP.

You can also earn EXP from the participation of other users on your characters:

The EXP system is designed to both award site participation and high quality character uploads. You can always view your current EXP amount in the user box in the upper right or via your user profile.

How does the rating system work?

Ratings for a character are calculated with a Bayesian weighted average, as soon as 5 ratings are recorded. This (generally) rewards characters that have more votes (and a more accurate overall score), and prevents a character with a single five-star rating from suddenly being the highest rated character on the Barracks. Characters with at least 5 ratings will also display their mean rating underneath their picture in search results.

For characters that don't yet have 5 ratings, they will appear oldest-first in search results sorted by rating. By placing older characters first, we hope to give them enough exposure to accumulate ratings before newer characters naturally push them out of view.

How do I know whether or not I've used DLC to create a character?

Unfortunately, it's not always obvious, and unless someone generates a master list of additional characterization options provided by DLC, there's no exact way of telling other than by the most obvious standout DLC options (such as the old school Kevlar armor from the Resistance Warrior Pack). For this reason, we're fairly lenient when it comes to policing the accuracy of DLC flags, and you'll just have to make your best guess. You can always go back and edit the DLC flags for a character after uploading him or her if you find out that character uses DLC.

Can I import a character that uses DLC/Mods I don't have?

Yes. If your game is missing options that are selected for a character, they should be replaced with random selections taken out of existing options in your game.

What mods are supported by the XCOM Barracks?

Mods that are used for a character should be indicated during the upload process. The current list of "known mods" selectable on the upload form is as follows:

Selected mods will appear on character profiles with links to the Steam Workshop pages of those mods. If your character uses mods not listed above, make sure to select the "Other" option in the upload form and manually link to additional mods in the character's Notes section.

From time to time, we will add mods to the "known mods" list based on general demand. We won't be adding mods specific to a character (such a tattoo or voice pack exclusively for a single character), because there would be too many and won't apply to most characters. Feel free to post on the XCOM Barracks subreddit if you'd like to request a mod be added to the list.

How does "Sign in with Steam" work?

The XCOM Barracks uses the Steam Web API for authentication - with the Steam service acting as an OpenID provider. Without getting into too much technical mumbo jumbo, here's how it works:

  1. We'll ask you to login with Steam. Clicking on the Login with Steam button redirects you to a Steam-generated page, hosted by Valve.
  2. You'll sign into the Steam page. Valve will verify your credentials (not us), and if successful, pass us your SteamID and other metadata about your account. We don't see your username or password, ever.
  3. We'll accept the SteamID from Valve as the logged in user, and store some of the metadata from the Steam profile associated with the SteamID (such as name and profile picture - see the privacy policy for complete details).

We chose to manage user accounts through Steam because the vast majority of our users have Steam accounts already. In addition, should the XCOM Barracks ever be compromised, no highly sensitive information would get leaked - the information we store about your Steam profile is public information. You can read more about the Steam Web API and how it works here.