Gunner (LWR)
The Gunner class is a support fire specialist, capable of wielding the largest automatic weapons in XCOM's arsenal to either inflict heavy damage, or lock down and debuff hostiles.
- Primary Weapon: SAWs, LMGs, Assault Rifles, Carbines, SMGs.
- Secondary Weapon: None.
- Class-Limited items:
Abilities
| Rank | Ability | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Specialist |
 Suppression
Suppress [Pinned if protected by cover, suppressive fire if not, no reaction fire, -35 aim, -35% mobility/ability range] targets. Breaks with suppressive fire if the target acts. Requires 2 ammo, and uses the 2nd ammo if the suppression breaks with suppressive fire. Suppressing makes this unit 30% more likely to be critically hit. 2 turn cooldown. | ||||||
 Lance Corporal |
 Will To Survive
All cover DR increased to 70% but grants 15 less defense. Grants +3 armor HP and Steadfast. .png){kind=small} Steadfast
Provides immunity to panic (except from flame/psi attacks) and reduces injury time by 50%. |
 Sentinel
Fire an additional reaction shot during overwatch. Gain +20 defense when on overwatch. Grants Opportunist.  Opportunist
Reaction shots gain +10 aim and can critically hit. |
 Mayhem
Suppression has 1 turn less cooldown and deals suppressive fire damage immediately. | ||||
 Corporal |
 Penetrator
The primary weapon gains +2 penetration. |
 Grit
Grants +3 armor HP and %DR equal to half of the %HP lost. |
 Shredder
Primary weapon shots during this unit's turn apply Shred equal to the dealt as a percent of the target's max HP (which increases subsequent damage the target receives by the amount of Shred) to any unit they damage for the remainder of the battle. | ||||
 Sergeant |
 Double Tap
Shooting or using burst allows this unit to fire an extra shot (at +25 aim/crit if it's the same target) if not out of ammo or targets. 1 turn cooldown after 2nd shot is used. |
 Ready For Anything
At the end of each turn, if this unit did not move and is not at risk of triggering reaction fire, Overwatch activates. Grants +2 ammo to non-arc primary weapons. |
 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. | ||||
 Tech Sergeant |
.png){kind=small} Critical System Targeting
Shots against autopsied mechanical units deal +50% damage and gain +2 penetration. Does not work with the Arc Rifle or Arc Pistol. | ||||||
 Gunnery Sergeant |
 Tenacious Defense
Grants +3 armor HP. Grants +20% crit resistance when protected by cover. |
 Bring 'Em On
Grants additional shot damage equal to half the number of enemies in sight. Grants additional aim and graze chance equal to 5x the number of enemies in sight. |
 First Aid
Grants 2 medikits. | ||||
 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. |
 Lock N' Load
Reloading any weapon costs only 1 AP. Dashing automatically reloads the active weapon. | |||||
Stat Progression
Tactical Advice
Role: Medium Range Offense / Offensive Support
The Gunner is mostly unchanged from vanilla. A major decision when building a Gunner is deciding if they will use a LMG or SAW-type weapon. SAW Gunners have more mobility but shorter range, so will value some mobility and defense as well as offense. LMG Gunners will be more interested in offense.
Gunners have a lot of flexibility in their builds, with many viable combinations. Several strong utility perks are available, including Holo Rounds and Shredder and of course Suppression. One potential offensive support build combines the debuff perks; Gunners can suppress in AoE using an LMG, apply Holo Rounds on those targets, make it inflict damage with Mayhem, and thus shred them with Shredder. Some strong offensive perks are also available in Double Tap, Penetrator and Critical System Targeting.
Sample Builds
Damage/Tank Gunner
The aim of this build is to focus the Gunner on being able to dish out powerful damage while being able to tank incoming fire. The SAW deals 150% base damage, and has a large pool of ammo to draw on, this grants the Gunner the ability to deal significant damage and be able to constantly fire.
Penetrator not only helps the Gunner be able to effectively punch through enemy mechanical armour, but also helps in punching through cover defence which can help against certain aliens such as Mutons. Double Tap gives the Gunner more ability to lay out significant fire per turn. Will to Survive, Tenacious Defence and Extra Conditioning grant this Gunner a signficant boost to their survivability and help them tank damage, however TD and EC only come online for high ranked Gunners.
Sample Damage/Tank Build: Will To Survive -> Penetrator -> Double Tap -> Critical System Targeting -> Tenacious Defense -> Extra Conditioning.
Recommended Equipment: SAW, Scope, Ceramic/Alloy Plate
Debuffer Gunner
A Debuff build focuses on making the Gunner provide effective debuffs to hostile targets to allow other Squad members to provide more accurate and damaging fire, it also allows the Gunner to be able to deliver reliable, albeit minor, damage if needed. The Debuffer Gunner can also provide effective Supressive fire on troublesome hostile targets. The LMG is a heavier weapon to wield, incurring mobility and accuracy penalties, however it deals 175% base damage, thus making it very effective for a support debuffer Gunner who relies more on suppressing the enemy.
Mayhem guarantees a small amount of damage on a target via surpression, which scales with weapon tech, this ensures you can guarantee apply debuff Shredder on a target, this can be combined with the Flush ability to grant +20 aim bonus to a shot and deal near comparable damage to a regular shot. Shredder is an effective way to remove damage resistance from hostile targets and provide overall bonus damage to anyone else engaging the target. Holo Rounds ensures allies will have a better chance to hit the target. Tenacious Defence provides a survivability buff while Lock N' Load helps keep the Gunner shooting.
Sample Debuffer Build: Mayhem -> Shredder -> Holo Rounds -> Critical System Targeting -> Tenacious Defense -> Lock N' Load.
Recommended Equipment: LMG, Hi Cap Mags.
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