Goliath (LWR)
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MEC variant of the Gunner and Rocketeer classes. A Goliath is designed to be a human tank. They have the best HP progression of any class in the game and an unsurpassed selection of defensive perks. They have reasonable aim progression, but their selection of offensive perks is a bit lacking.
- Primary Weapon: MEC Primary Weapons
- Secondary Weapon: MEC Secondary Weapon Systems
- Class-Limited items: MEC Equipment items
Abilities
| Rank | Ability | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Specialist |
 Absorption Fields
Grants +30% DR. | ||||||
 Lance Corporal |
 Grenadier
Using a destructive grenade or MiNE costs only 1 AP. Equipped destructive grenades and MiNEs receive an additional use. For MECs only: Gain 35% throw range when using One For All. |
 Sentry
If this unit has Combat Readiness, the first hit taken each turn grazes, dealing only half of its original damage. Fire an additional reaction shot during overwatch. If this unit can see 4 or more enemies, gain Combat Readiness when entering overwatch. |
 Double Tap
Shooting or using burst allows this unit to fire an extra shot (at +20 aim if it's the same target) if not out of ammo or targets. 1 turn cooldown after 2nd shot is used. | ||||
 Corporal |
 Grit
Grants +3 armor HP and %DR equal to half of the %HP lost. |
 Fortified
Grants immunity to critical hits. Injury and fatigue times are reduced by 30%. |
.png){kind=small} Critical System Targeting
Shots against autopsied mechanical units deal +80% damage. Does not work with the Arc Rifle or Arc Pistol. | ||||
 Sergeant |
 Blast
Grants +20% radius and +1 damage to explosives. Does not affect Gravity Mines. |
 Lock N' Load
Reloading any weapon costs only 1 AP. Dashing automatically reloads the active weapon. |
 Reactive Targeting Sensors
Once per turn, if this unit is attacked: Attempt to return fire with a +40 aim reaction shot. If this unit did return fire, enter One For All (if able). [Basic reaction shots bypass half of cover DR/def, cannot crit, and require hit chance >30] | ||||
 Tech Sergeant |
Kinetic Dampening
Grants proximity-based DR from shots against this unit over 10 tiles away (+5% DR per tile further than 10). Grants 1 penetration resistance. | ||||||
 Gunnery Sergeant |
 Repair Servos
Repairs damage sustained in battle: When damaged, gain servos equal to 35% of the damage sustained. Each servo can heal 1 HP. At end of turn, use half the servos available (minimum 1, if available). |
 Holo Rounds
Firing at a target during this unit's turn holos [Prevents concealment/stealth, incoming shots gain +20 aim and +1 penetration] them for 3 turns. |
 Tandem Warheads
Explosives employed by this soldier do full damage at the extent of their area of effect (instead of 50%). | ||||
 Master Sergeant |
 Extra Conditioning
Grants +3 armor HP, +0.6 mobility, 10% throw range, and a 10% chance for all end-in-idle actions to cost 0 AP. |
 Fragmentation
Explosives critically hit exposed targets, dealing 150% damage. | |||||
Stat Progression
| Rank | Attribute Gains | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 | |
| Specialist
|
+0-1 (86%) | +4-12 | - | - |
| Lance Corporal
|
+0-1 (86%) | +1-3 | - | - |
| Corporal
|
+0-1 (86%) | +1-3 | - | - |
| Sergeant
|
+0-1 (86%) | +1-3 | - | - |
| Tech Sergeant
|
+0-1 (86%) | +0-2 | - | - |
| Gunnery Sergeant
|
+0-1 (85%) | - | - | - |
| Master Sergeant
|
+0-1 (85%) | - | - | - |
| Total | +0-7 |
+7-23 |
- |
- |
Predictable Potential:
| Rank | Attribute Gains | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| |
| Specialist
|
+3 | +8 | - | - |
| Lance Corporal
|
+1 | +2 | - | - |
| Corporal
|
+1 | +2 | - | - |
| Sergeant
|
+1 | +2 | - | - |
| Tech Sergeant
|
- | +1 | - | - |
| Gunnery Sergeant
|
- | - | - | - |
| Master Sergeant
|
- | - | - | - |
| Total | +6 |
+15 |
- |
- |
Tactical Advice
With the highest HP progression and plethora of defensive perks, the Goliath acts as a front-line bullet sponge for the rest of the team. With the Absorption Fields perk as the first perk to be available, the Goliath is able to heavily reduce any damage that it receives, giving it much more leeway to utilize whatever offense it specialized into and making it an effective hybrid tank.
With perks like Fortified or Grit, it becomes more difficult for aliens to severely hurt the MEC and even if they manage to heavily damage it, the Repair Servos perk can give it even more survivability, by making it able to repair itself during longer missions.
Sadly the enemy isn't actually obliged to shoot at the Goliath, making its tanking role somewhat situational as enemy units can forego shooting at the MEC that is standing right in front of them, and instead shoot at a soldier in low cover behind the MEC. In this case, equipping short range, high damage weapons such as Kinetic Strike and/or Flamethrowers can make them regret letting your Goliath run free. You will probably want to strike a balance when building your Goliath between defense and offense/utility, since a purely defensively built Goliath will have little to contribute in the event that the aliens don't decide to attack it.
It should be noted that even with their high health, damage-reducing and self-repairing capabilities, a lone Goliath can still die quite easily during the later parts of the campaign. The most serious threats come from Sectoid swarms, which will deal many small hits that bypass DR, and enemies with Critical System Targeting, which will hit WAY too hard to tank multiple shots from. It is never a good idea to place the Goliath under a full pod's worth of fire without any assistance.
While the Goliath has a few different ways to specialize its offense, it's always going to be a tanky MEC at the end of the day. This lack of versatility is a weakness shared by the Jaeger; if you don't need a MEC tank (or a MEC shooter in the case of Jaeger), then you won't need a Goliath at all.
Sample Builds
All Goliath builds are inherently quite tanky due to Absorption Fields and Kinetic Dampening, but they all focus on different skills and have different levels of bulk.
Grenadier Goliath
The Grenadier Goliath acts like a literal tank; it shoots explosives at enemies while being very hard to kill. It wants to set up somewhere close to the action with One for All and then lob grenades turn after turn as needed. Even when out of grenades, this build can hold ground effectively due to how tanky it is.
Sample Grenadier Build: Grenadier -> Grit -> Danger Zone -> Kinetic Dampening -> Repair Servos or Tandem Warheads -> Fragmentation
Recommended Equipment: Grenade Launcher, Gravity Mine, Heavy MEC Suit, Survivability-increasers
Notes:
- Because you'll be in One for All most of the time, a Heavy MEC Suit will perform best.
- Grenadier only affects Grenade Launchers and Gravity Mines, so those are the equipment of choice.
- At GSGT, Tandem Warheads is the default choice that makes your explosives better, but Repair Servos can be chosen instead to leverage the Goliath's tankiness more.
Sentry Goliath
The Sentry Goliath acts as a tank and damage hybrid, leveraging the combination of Sentry and Reactive Targeting Sensors to safely enter One for All while taking shots in the process. This build can often struggle significantly with ammo, creating "cooldown" turns of sorts, but when it has enough ammo to effectively use Sentry it can put out quite a lot of damage. Manually ending turns to gain Combat Readiness can be used if low on ammo as well to still take high accuracy RTS shots while getting Sentry's graze.
Sample Sentry Build: Sentry -> Fortified or Grit -> Reactive Targeting Sensors -> Kinetic Dampening -> Repair Servos -> Extra Conditioning
Recommended Equipment: Restorative Mist, Kinetic Strike Module, Heavy MEC Suit, Survivability-increasers, Ammo-increasers, Damage-increasers
Notes:
- Due to actively drawing fire to utilize Sentry and Reactive Targeting Sensors, a Heavy MEC Suit is highly recommended.
- Restorative Mist is solid on any tank MEC, and Sentry Goliaths are no exception.
- Kinetic Strike Module gives you a solid method of doing damage when out of ammo or when conserving ammo is important.
- At CPL, Fortified will keep you safer for the RTS shot and prevents panic from messing up your plans, while Grit is better for tanking once already in OfA.
Shooter Goliath
The Shooter Goliath is about as simple as a MEC can get: it shoots things for high damage, and can take some hits in return. Its damage can rival the likes of a Rapid Fire Jaeger when up against mechanical enemies, but big guns are going to hurt regardless of target type. This build notably suffers from mediocre aim, so close range and flanks are recommended.
Sample Shooter Build: Double Tap -> Fortified or Penetrator -> Lock N' Load -> Kinetic Dampening -> Repair Servos or Critical System Targeting -> Extra Conditioning
Recommended Equipment: Any MEC equipment, Heavy MEC Suit, Aim-increasers, Damage-increasers, Survivability-increasers
Notes:
- A Heavy MEC Suit will benefit this build significant, as the Goliath's default bulk from Absorption Fields and Kinetic Dampening pair nicely with the high survivability of a Heavy MEC suit.
- A Light MEC Suit can be used if mobility is a concern, however.
- All MEC equipment works fairly well for this build:
- Grenade Launchers, Gravity Mines, Flamethrowers, and Electropulse all give you effective options to use for AoE damage or when hit chances are low, and bring some utility to boot.
- Restorative Mist is nice for any MEC that is going to be drawing fire, and because of the Goliath's aim, they will often have to be close to their enemies.
- Kinetic Strike Module is an effective option to use against any high DR targets or on Double Tap's cooldown turn.
- This build can choose to specialize more in bulk or damage:
- At CPL, Penetrator is a basic damage increase that's particularly effective against enemies in cover or hardened enemies, and Fortified will make you significantly tankier as you won't be using One for All for tanking.
- At GSGT, Critical System Targeting is incredible against most mechanical enemies, and Repair Servos significantly improves your longevity when it comes to tanking hits.
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