Assault (EU2012)
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A mobile class with a short-range high punch and good defense. A good choice for close quarter combat in maps with constricting spaces and limited vision. The Run & Gun ability makes Assault soldiers particularly useful for outflanking opponents. Its main drawbacks are the limited usefulness of the Shotgun outside close range and the high cool down time after using Run & Gun.
- The Assault class primary weapon is the Shotgun, a firearm designed to deal heavy damage to targets at close range with a 20% probability for critical hits, but with loss of efficiency at a greater distance to target.
- The Shotgun can later be replaced by the Laser Scatter and Alloy Cannon models, which offer greater damage capability.
- As an alternative, Assault Rifles may also be used by Assault units instead of Shotguns. It provides them with a better weapon for medium range engagements, where the Assault can use the perks that improve its Critical Hit ability for devastating effects.
- Finally the Assault also carries a Pistol as its secondary weapon and a single other equipment item.
- The Assault's Ability tree choices are mainly divided between Defense and Attack:
- Defense: Tactical Sense/Lightning Reflexes (increase Defense), Close Quarters Specialist and Extra Conditioning/Resilience (less Damage received).
- Attack: Run & Gun, Aggression/Close & Personal (increase Critical Chance), Rapid Fire and Bring 'Em On/Killer Instinct (increase Critical Damage).
- Unique: Flush (forces a unit to leave Cover).
- The bonus in stats gained through rank promotions will give the Assault a total of +24 Aim points upon reaching Colonel rank, together with a total of +4 HP and +14 Will.
| Rank | Ability | |||
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 Squaddie |
 Allows firing or Overwatch after Dashing on the turn Run & Gun is activated. 2 turn cooldown. |
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Allows firing or Overwatch after Dashing on the turn Run & Gun is activated. 2 turn cooldown. |
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 Corporal |
 Confers +5 Defense per enemy in sight (max +20). |
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 Confers +10% critical chance per enemy in sight (max +30%). |
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 Sergeant |
 Forces the first reaction shot against this unit each turn to miss. |
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 Confers +30% critical chance against adjacent targets. The bonus declines with distance from the target. |
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 Lieutenant |
 Fire a shot that causes enemies to run out of cover. The shot is easy to hit with, but does reduced damage. (+30 Aim, 50% Damage) |
 
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 Take two shots against a single target in quick succession. Each shot carries a -15 penalty to Aim. |
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 Captain |
 Confers a reaction shot against any enemy who closes to within 4 tiles. Does not require Overwatch. |
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 Adds 1 damage on critical hits for each enemy the squad can see (up to 5). |
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 Major |
 Confers bonus health based on which type of armor is equipped. Heavier armor increases the bonus. |
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Confers bonus health based on which type of armor is equipped. Heavier armor increases the bonus. |
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 Colonel |
 Confers immunity to critical hits. |
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 Activating Run & Gun now also grants +50% critical damage for the rest of the turn. |
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| Additional Shot | Improves Reaction | Extra Movement | Additional Equipment | Change Unit Aim | Decrease Enemy Aim | Change Damage Given | Decrease Damage Taken |
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Run & Gun
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Additional Notes
- The Assault's unique Lightning Reflexes ability allows it to completely evade the first reaction shot fired by the aliens. Further reaction shots are received normally.
- Close Quarters Specialist will trigger against any hostile unit that closes within four tiles, whether or not the Assault has taken any actions. As a practical matter, this means that an Assault can react before the end of the turn against aliens who have just been 'triggered', or even against Muton Berserkers that have entered the 4-tile radius from their reaction to being shot, even if the Assault triggered them to start with.
- The Flush ability allows an Assault to force an enemy to take a move action. This can force a unit to move out of cover, but can also cause the unit to simply move to different cover. The enemy may trigger Overwatch and Close Quarters Specialist as it is running out of cover.
- Rapid Fire allows an Assault to attack twice at reduced accuracy, and does not consume itself if the first shot manages to kill the enemy. It only gives a benefit if the base chance for a single shot is 30% or greater. Below this, Rapid Fire has a lower chance of making at least one hit.
- Extra Conditioning gives +1 health with the starting Body armor, +2 for Carapace, Skeleton, Ghost, and Psi Amror, and +4 with Titan or Archangel Armor.
Tactical Advice
Assaults are the only class that has a choice between primary weapons (Shotgun vs. Assault Rifle). Because of this and the broad applicability of their individual skills, they don't necessarily have clear cut build paths. Shotguns offer damage values identical to Sniper Rifles -- albeit with slightly lower chance for critical hits - and with the right abilities can enhance this to make the Assault one of the most damaging units in the game. Assault rifles trade damage for the safety of distance (and typically better cover, as a result), and defensive skills can further improve the soldier's ability to protect himself and his squad. All Assaults, however, provide the toughness and mobility to form a backbone for your squad, and bringing two (or even more) will become typical as you expand your squad size.
Abilities
| Corporal
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Tactical Sense | Aggression |
- Here starts the divergent options of offense vs. defense. Which one you choose should be dependent on how you are planning to equip and play the Assault, choosing to accentuate strengths or shore up weaknesses.
- Generally though, shotgunners will prefer Tactical Sense and riflemen will want Aggression.
Tactical Sense
- Defense bonus is powerful for both riflemen and shotgunners;
- Its value increases exponentially with other defense boosts such as cover, Ghost Armor, and smoke grenades;
- Shotguns do a ton of damage by themselves, so Tactical Sense can be a great pickup to help you survive the stupid situations that result from charging in using Run and Gun with a short range weapon.
Aggression
- Similarly offers value for both weapon types;
- Assault rifles have low base damage and thus benefit from an easy way to increase that output without jeopardizing their cover
- Shotguns do gain more damage from critting than assault rifles, and you probably don't want to charge up to enemies, empty your weapon on them, and not kill them. Bear in mind, however, that flanking is easier to achieve and up close and provides a 50% bonus to crit chance. That large swing has the potential to make this somewhat redundant.
| Sergeant
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Lightning Reflexes | Close & Personal |
- These skills both address your ability to close in on enemies, either in getting there safely or finishing them once you're there.
- Lightning Reflexes is generally preferable, but shotgunners should consider Close & Personal as well.
Lightning Reflexes
- The Assault's unique Lightning Reflexes ability allows it to completely evade the first reaction shot fired by the aliens. Further reaction shots are received normally.
- One of the best abilities, you will want at least one unit with it on your team. The ability to safely "clear out" Overwatches is good all the time, and it's particularly great when dealing with escort missions and Sectopods. While you can always count on XCOM to teach you that probability is a fickle mistress, Lightning Reflexes will always be there to tuck you in at night and feel safe.
- If you have a lot of Ghost Armors on your team, you'll see your usage of this dwindle. Nevertheless, Ghost Armor comes around late enough and sometimes you can't see the enemies entering Overwatch that you'll still get usage of this.
Close & Personal
- Continues the trend of making Assaults crit-monsters, and combined with Aggression will give you a 40%-60% bonus to crit chance before taking either weapon stats or flanking into account.
- If you can get in close, your target is going to need to be cleaned off the walls with a spatula. However, as riflemen generally will keep their distance, this will be of dubious value for them.
- Similar to Aggression, shotguns have high damage, good crit chance, and love flanks by default - Close And Personal may prove to be overkill.
| Lieutenant
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Flush | Rapid Fire |
- Usually, Rapid Fire will be the clear choice but Flush can also have its uses;
- Both choices increase your ammo consumption, so if you're using them frequently, consider the Ammo Conservation foundry project.
Rapid Fire
- Rapid Fire allows an Assault to attack twice at reduced accuracy, and does not consume itself if the first shot manages to kill the enemy.
- If the hit chance is in 34%~96% range, rapid fire offers more chance to land at least one hit.
- This is one of the most broadly useful skills in the game, and is never a bad pickup. Also note that if you kill target with first shot, you'll spend only one ammo.
Flush
- The Flush ability allows an Assault to force an enemy to take a move action. This can force a unit to move out of cover, but can also cause the unit to simply move to different cover The enemy may trigger overwatch and Close Quarters Specialist as it is running out of cover.
- It costs 3 ammo, so you can't use it every turn and will reload more often than Rapid Fire - assuming you have enough ammo left to use it in the first place;
- While it drives the target out of its current cover, the enemy could go to different cover or break sight range completely. Destroying the target's cover with explosives may be preferable;
- The shot has significantly improved accuracy, but at reduced damage. Has +30 aim and does half damage. This can make it useful for setting up captures, or giving a hefty Aim boost to a Shotgunner who is a little too far away.
- Uses for Flush can include set up plays for Snipers who don't quite have line of sight, Heavies who are going to be launching rockets and hope to catch one more enemy in the blast zone, or other Assaults itching for a Close Combat Specialist crossfire. In most cases, however, you will struggle to take advantage of the movement Flush triggers.
| Captain
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Close Combat Specialist | Bring 'Em On |
- Continuing the earlier theme, the Assault tree has a lot of great options. This is a choice for both weapon types.
Close Combat Specialist
- Close Quarters Specialist will trigger against any hostile unit that closes within four tiles, whether or not the Assault has taken any actions. As a practical matter, this means that an Assault can react before the end of the turn against aliens who have just been 'triggered', or even against Muton Berserkers that have entered the 4-tile radius from their reaction to being shot, even if the Assault triggered them to start with.
- A Godsend against charging melee, the poor fool that wanders through a door you are next to, or any close range engagement. Shotgunners will see this trigger more frequently, and thus have a little more use for it than riflemen.
- This stacks with Overwatch, allowing your Assault to potentially fire twice in a single enemy turn.
Bring 'Em On
- In contrast, has no range requirement but offers tremendous synergy with the other crit abilities available to an Assault - If you took Aggression and/or Close & Personal, this is a chance to make large dividends on that decision;
- Riflemen with upgraded S.C.O.P.E.s will similarly get some extra mileage. Just remember that the bonus is based on enemies that the squad can see, so you may want to have this unit attack before your other soldiers in order to maximize its value.
| Colonel
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Resilience |
Killer Instinct |
- Again, both choices are great options. This is similar to the choice of Lightning Reflexes vs. Close & Personal in weighing defensive certainty versus major killing power boosts, and should be considered for both weapon types.
Resilience
- Will turn the Assault Colonel into a brick. Immunity to crits take luck out of the equation and put shotgunners at less risk of being taken out in one fell swoop as they charge in for kill shots.
- Remember that you can briefly duplicate the effect (and more!) with Combat Stims, however.
Killer Instinct
- The blood-soaked cherry atop the murder sundae that is the critical hit-focused Assault. In concert with Bring 'Em On, your critical hits can exceed 20 damage, regardless of weapon type.
- Even without it, you can make some very aggressive plays with Killer Instinct. Run at full dash to a good position, open up with Rapid Fire and blow a Sectopod or Ethereal away in one fell blow. (Or two, as the case may be.)
Equipment
Weapons: Upgrading your weapons is a fairly significant concern for Assaults, as a base Assault Rifle won't reliably kill even Sectoids or Thin Men. Luckily, riflemen get some freebies from capturing enemies. No such luck for shotgunners, who unfortunately are also 1 step further down the tech tree. If Light Plasma Rifles are the most advanced assault rifles you have, give them to Assaults (rather than Supports) in order to offset some of the penalty from Rapid Fire. Shotgunners will also appreciate a decent pistol if you have any to spare, though this is typically a lower priority than giving one to your Sniper.
Armor: Assaults will be a major part of your front line regardless of their weapon and should get first choice of the most advanced armor you have. Ghost Armor is typically your best bet late game, as the defense bonus will generally serve you better than the few extra hitpoints of Titan Armor (though on Council Missions, which are almost exclusively Thin Men, you may want to stick with giving them Titan Armor). Shotgunners in particular will love Ghost Armor's movement speed bonus and invisibility as they charge into the fray. The +100% crit chance you get from firing while invisible also has great synergy with Bring 'Em On and Killer Instinct.
Item: Any item is a viable choice on an Assault, excepting the Medikit. Their position at the front line makes them good grenadiers and good secondary users of the Arc Thrower if your Support's hands are full. If you don't need either of those, Nano-Fiber Vests or Chitin Plating provide a an extra layer of survivability for shotgunners. Later on they can be upgraded to Stim Packs to provide massive stat boosts and damage reduction for breaching. Riflemen with Rapid Fire will appreciate a S.C.O.P.E., especially with its foundry upgrade. Keep an eye on your unit's Will and use Mind Shields if necessary.
Summary
Another way to consider your thinking on how to build your Assault Troopers is "Medium Range vs Close-Range". Depending on how you want them to fight, this means choosing either the shotgun weapons for point-blank combat, or giving them rifles to keep your distance from enemy guns. Either way, your Ability choices should match the combat style
Assault troopers with rifles will be better served with Ghost Armor, plus Crit-chance boosting Abilities, and perhaps a Scope. As you will be keeping them just out of range, Close Combat and Close & Personal are less useful to them, and Bring 'Em On helps them get those last few points of damage they'll need to consistently kill aliens.
Meanwhile, an Assault with a Shotgun-type weapon won't benefit as much from defense (aim is calculated with additive/subtractive values: +20 defense on a 130 point shot (ie: 130%-20%=110%) is still a guaranteed shot), and should be equipped to inevitably soak up damage with Titan or Archangel Armor and Chitin Plating (a grand total HP bonus of 18 for a Major or Colonel). As more aliens will move in range, Close Combat Specialist will activate often, and with an Alloy Canon, any alien that tries to run through a door guarded by an Assault Trooper will almost always die. And while Rapid Fire loses a few points on aim, a shotgun-wielding Assault Trooper won't even see that point loss on the aim percentage, when they've got the barrel right in the alien's throat.
Lastly, the Second Wave option "Absolutely Critical" will render all the +Crit Chance abilities redundant-- save for Hardened enemies, which will actually have less chance of receiving Critical Hits.
Also: a common Squad formation is two snipers, two support, and either two Assault or an Assault and a Heavy. Heavies with the HEAT ammo ability are a little better at killing mechanized enemies, and tend to be able to do so at a safe distance, while two Assaults are better for killing things all around, as most players will focus heavies on being Anti-Mech Warriors.
Psionic Assault troopers will be easy to train, since their being in the front line means there's always an alien in range to Mindfray (additionally, the reduction to Aim and Move that the alien suffers will help keep your Assault trooper out of danger). As one should always be more proactive with Assault troopers, an assault benefits more from being Psi Inspired rather than Inspiring others, saving his move for attack than defense. It's a toss-up between TK Field and Mind Control: again, defensive TK may be better if someone else does it for him/her, as is MCing, as anyone in range of a close-range focused Assault will probably be in range of the rest of your squad. Perhaps MC is best for a Psi Assault, as while they may miss a turn doing damage, they'll be closer to the rest of the alien squad, and possibly succeed in MCing an alien that will then be flanking the remaining two aliens. The drawback to this is that MCing the rearmost alien carries the risk of activating any other alien squads that were before, just out of range.