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 four actions which is two turns on most enemies, the cooldown of the arc thrower is also two turns which will allow enemies as single turn of activity before you can re-attempt another stun.

Abilities

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Rank	Ability
Squaddie		Run and Gun Take an action after dashing.	Stun Fire your Arc Thrower to incapacitate a target.
	Raider		Breacher
Lance Corporal	Slug Shot 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.	Electroshock Your arc thrower disorients the target when it misses.	Lightning Reflexes Reaction fire shots against you have a significantly decreased chance to hit. The bonus goes down with each additional reaction shot you face.
Corporal	Trench Gun Special shot for primary-weapon shotguns only: Fire a short-range cone-based attack at nearby targets. Three-turn cooldown.	Arc Pulser Fire your Arc Thrower to incapacitate a target and damage mechanical enemies.	Close and Personal Confers +30 critical chance against adjacent targets. The bonus declines with distance from the target.
Sergeant	Killer Instinct Activating Run & Gun grants +50% critical damage for the rest of the turn.	Stun Gunner Your Arc Thrower now has a bonus to hit.	Fortify Activate to grant +20 defense until the beginning of the next turn. Does not cost an action. Has a 5-turn cooldown.
Staff Sergeant	Extra Conditioning Run and Gun cooldown is reduced by one turn.	Aggression Gain +5 critical chance for each enemy you can see, up to a maximum of 30.	Formidable Your gear includes an extra layer of protection, granting two extra points of Ablative HP and 50% less damage from explosive attacks.
Tech Sergeant	Hit and Run Once per turn, gain an additional action after taking a standard shot at a flanked or exposed target with your primary weapon.	Rapid Fire Fire twice in a row at an enemy. Each shot suffers an Aim penalty of -15. There is no cooldown on this ability.	Close Encounters 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.
Gunnery Sergeant	Bring 'Em On Gain +1 damage on critical hits for every two enemies you can see, up to a maximum of +8.	Close Combat Specialist 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.	Untouchable If you score a kill during your turn, the next attack against you during the enemy turn will miss.
Master Sergeant	Street Sweeper Cone-based shotgun attack that does bonus damage to unarmored targets. Blocked by heavy cover.	Chain Lightning Fire your Arc Thrower at every visible enemy who is capable of being stunned. Five-turn cooldown.	Lethal 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