Assault (LW2)

The Assault serves as our primary close range unit, able to push in close and hold the line.

Primary: Rifle, SMG or Shotgun (default); Secondary: Arc Thrower

The Assault class is specialised in mobility and dealing damage with guns. They are somewhat akin to a shotgun-using vanilla Ranger, but with more emphasis on damage and without the sword, or stealth skills.

"Raider" type Assaults (Left branch) excel at achieving and exploiting flanks on enemy positions, clearing out groups of lightly-armored hostiles or single well-armored hostiles with their various special shotgun attacks, but will need supporting fire from allies to help cover them, as their innate defenses may not be enough to withstand a counterattack.

"Breacher" type Assaults (Right branch) are XCOM's ideal front line, capable of plunging into the heart of an enemy formation and weathering enemy reprisals long enough for the rest of the Assault's squad to wipe out the enemy, but alone may struggle to confront multiple hostiles, particularly at range.

Assaults carry Arc Throwers as their secondary weapon. These have normal (rifle) range penalties, giving shotgun equipped Assaults a nonlethal option for use at range, stunning organic targets if it hits them. The center branch features multiple upgrades to the Arc Thrower, making an Assault more than capable of shutting down even the scariest of hostiles when you need it most. Arc throwers will stun for two actions which is one turn on most enemies, the cooldown of the arc thrower is two turns which will allow enemies a single turn of activity before you can re-attempt another stun.

Abilities

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Rank	Ability
Squaddie		Take an action after dashing.	Fire your Arc Thrower to incapacitate a target.
	Raider		Breacher
Lance Corporal	Special shot for primary-weapon shotguns only: Fire a shot that pierces two armor and has no range penalties. Uses 2 ammo. Three turn cooldown.	Your arc thrower disorients the target when it misses.	Reaction fire shots against you have a significantly decreased chance to hit. The bonus goes down with each additional reaction shot you face.
Corporal	Special shot for primary-weapon shotguns only: Fire a short-range cone-based attack at nearby targets. Three-turn cooldown.	Fire your Arc Thrower to incapacitate a target and damage mechanical enemies.	Confers +30 critical chance against adjacent targets. The bonus declines with distance from the target.
Sergeant	Activating Run & Gun grants +50% critical damage for the rest of the turn.	Your Arc Thrower now has a bonus to hit.	Activate to grant +20 defense until the beginning of the next turn. Does not cost an action. Has a 5-turn cooldown.
Staff Sergeant	Run and Gun cooldown is reduced by one turn.	Gain +5 critical chance for each enemy you can see, up to a maximum of 30.	Your gear includes an extra layer of protection, granting two extra points of Ablative HP and 50% less damage from explosive attacks.
Tech Sergeant	Once per turn, gain an additional action after taking a standard shot at a flanked or exposed target with your primary weapon.	Fire twice in a row at an enemy. Each shot suffers an Aim penalty of -15. There is no cooldown on this ability.	Once per turn, gain a bonus action after taking a standard shot with your primary weapon at an enemy within four tiles. Close Encounters cannot be used after Run and Gun is activated.
GunnerySergeant	Gain +1 damage on critical hits for every two enemies you can see, up to a maximum of +8.	During enemy turns, fire a free reaction shot with your primary weapon at any visible enemy within four tiles who moves or fires. Will not trigger if soldier is concealed.	If you score a kill during your turn, the next attack against you during the enemy turn will miss.
Master Sergeant	Cone-based shotgun attack that does bonus damage to unarmored targets. Blocked by heavy cover.	Fire your Arc Thrower at every visible enemy who is capable of being stunned. Five-turn cooldown.	You do two additional points of base damage and one point of additional crit damage with your primary weapon.

Stat Progression

Rank	Health	Offense	Will	Mobility	Dodge	Hacking
Squaddie	0	2	5	?	0	0
Lance Corporal	1	2	5	0	0	0
Corporal	0	2	0	0	0	0
Sergeant	1	2	0	0	0	0
Staff Sergeant	0	2	0	0	0	0
Tech Sergeant	1	2	0	0	0	0
Gunnery Sergeant	0	2	0	0	0	0
Master Sergeant	1	2	0	0	0	0
Total	4	16	10	0	0	0

This class also gains 1 point of strength, though it's not clear what that does.

See Also

XCOM Units in Long War 2
Starting	Soldiers Assault Grenadier Gunner Ranger Sharpshooter Shinobi Specialist Technical
Unlockable	Psi Operative SPARK Officers