Class Builds (LW2)

Recommended builds for each class. Attachments and utility items will vary depending on what is available to you.

Ranger (LW2)

Primary Weapon: Assault Rifle

Attachments: Scope, Auto loader, Suppressor

Utility Items: Grenade, Special Ammo, Armour

Specialist (LW2)

Primary Weapon: Assault Rifle

Attachments: Scope, Auto loader, Suppressor

Utility Items: Grenade, MedKit, Armour

Gunner (LW2)

Primary Weapon: Cannon

Attachments: Scope, Auto Loader, Extended Magazine

Utility Items: Grenade, Special Ammo, Armour

Assault (LW2)

Primary Weapon: Shotgun

Attachments: Laser Sight, Suppressor, Auto loader

Utility Items: Grenade, Flash bang, Armour

Grenadier (LW2)

Primary Weapon: SMG/Assault Rifle

Attachments: Suppressor, Hair Trigger, Expanded Magazine, Auto-Loader

Utility Items: Grenade, Flash bang, Armour

Abilities

Demolition Grenadier: Sapper, Heavy Ordinance, Boosted Cores, Tandem Warheads, Biggest Booms, Volatile Mix, Combat Engineer

Support Grenadier: Rapid Deployment, Protector, Bluescreen Bombs, Sting Grenades, Dense Smoke, Volatile Mix, Full Kit

Summary

There are two paths to a Grenadier and these are the paths as displayed by the abilities above.

Demolition Grenadier: This perk tree is purely catered towards removing the cover that many enemies use and/or doing tremendous amounts of area damage. While it lacks versatility its destructive power is unquestion and can turn even the most dug in enemies' defenses into their own grave. Combined with other abilities from other X-COM Soldiers a Grenadier can set up a massive kill-zone for other soldiers, especially so for a Sniper with Serial. Less orthodoxly, it can also be used to destroy obstacles that may be obscuring lines of sight for other soldiers or more aptly, Snipers. While Heat Warheads may seem tempting, there are more suitable perks for other soldiers to deal with armour and you lose a lot of potential damage from Tandem Warheads that may stop a Grenadier from inflicting lethal damage on certain enemies.

Support Grenadier: This tree focuses on providing support for fellow X-COM soldiers, or inflicting debilitating effects on large groups of enemies. Flash grenades (which become stinger grenades) at higher ranks are much more effective, since they gain the ability to stun an enemy for 1 round, and this effect can stack with multiple grenades although the disorient does not. Full kit then grants even more grenades so a Grenadier can pepper entire platoons of enemies with Sting Grenades or protect their entire team with Smoke Grenades, providing significant defensive benefits for all within. Rapid deployment then rounds this out with a means to fire two grenades in one round or fire a grenade and still take normal actions. Ghost Grenade is another very tempting perk but is only useful in specific situations and doesn't outweigh the extra area of effect the support grenades get from Volatile Mix.

Shinobi (LW2)

Loadout

Primary Weapon: SMG

Attachments: Suppressor, Hair Trigger, Expanded Magazine

Utility Items: Grenade, Flash bang, Armour

Abilities: Ghostwalker, Lone Wolf, Covert, Bladestorm, Conceal, Tradecraft, Rapid Fire

Summary

The Shinobi’s the true strength is concealment; this build lets the rest of the squad benefit from the absolute wealth of reconnaissance information our hidden ghost can provide.

Technical (LW2)

Loadout

Primary Weapon: SMG

Attachments: Suppressor, Hair Trigger, Expanded Magazine

Utility Items: Grenade, Flash bang, Armour

Abilities: Fire in the Hole, Napalm-X, Burnout, Formidable, Incinerator, Tactical Sense, Bunker Buster

Summary

The Technical’s value depends entirely on the use of their cover-busting rocket and their debilitating flamer; this build makes the best of both their strengths while trading out their weaknesses.

Sharpshooter (LW2)

Primary Weapon: Sniper Rifle

Attachments: Scope, Auto Loader, Stock

Utility Items: Pistol, Special Ammo, Armour

Abilities

Sharpshooter: Death from Above, Damn Good Ground, Long watch, Centre Mass, Aggression, Hunters Instinct's, Serial

Support Sniper: Death from Above, Hi-Def Holo, Long watch, Independent Tracking, Vital Point Targeting, Multi-Targetting, ANY.

Summary

Sharpshooter: These snipers tend to hang way back from the fighting and let the squad spot targets for them. While weak at first, the Sharpshooter becomes incredibly lethal as they rank up especially so when they reach GSgt and MSgt ranks where the very wanted Hunter's Instinct perk and Serial ability come into play. While Serial operates on a very long cooldown, a well-timed Serial in conjunction with other XCOM operatives can potentially give anything from 3 kills all the way up to a staggering 24 kills with the right attachments, scenario and a spot of luck. Suffice to say this can completely turn a battle around, all while the Sniper stays out of harms way. It would be smart to prioritise enemies near the sniper or place another soldier with the sniper to provide close-range assistance.

Support Sniper: These guys are all about marking targets for their allies to pick off. While the bonuses start off relatively weak, they can gradually be built up to offer up to +20 aim, critical chance, and +2 extra damage on each attack for 2 rounds which even provides the Support sniper a chance to reap some of the benefits. Once a Support sniper reaches GSgt for the multi-targeting perk and manages to get a Mk II Holotargeter, they can start marking entire groups of enemies which allows for very swift interdiction from other XCOM soldiers. While Rapid Targeting may seem the more Logical perk to choose at Lcpl rank, it operates on a multiple turn cooldown, only affects one enemy and stops a Support Sniper from giving his/her fair share of sniping with Death from Above. Those who can live without Long Watch could also take Phantom instead to allow for the sniper to continue stealth operations and marking out targets without too much fear of detection, and instead of aggression, one could pick Conceal to make for a true stealthy sniper. The final rank grants some flexibility for the commander in question to fill in the gap wherever it is needed.

Notes: This page should be in table format and be expanded to include; SPARKS class, Level perks, AWC perks, Leader Perks, Perhaps moved in to the class description page (?), add squad builds depending on mission type & infiltration time