Jaeger (Long War)

   Jaeger

MEC variant of the Sniper class. The Jaeger is designed for fire support, with the best aim progression of any class in the game (tied with the Sniper), and a plethora of offensive perks to increase damage. Jaegers' main drawback are their low HP progression and a poor selection of defensive perks, making them a bit fragile for MECs.

Primary Weapon: MEC Primary Weapons

Secondary Weapon: MEC Secondary Weapon Systems

Class-Limited items: MEC Equipment items

Abilities

Rank	Ability
Specialist	In the Zone Killing a flanked or uncovered target does not cost an action. Confers a -1 base damage and -10% critical hit chance penalty for each successive In The Zone kill.
	No other bonuses.
Lance Corporal	Damn Good Ground Confers +10 Aim and +10 Defense against enemies at lower elevation, in addition to the usual elevation bonuses.	Platform Stability Shots taken before any costly actions have +10 Aim and +10% critical chance. Also grants +10 aim for purposes of reducing scatter if the soldier has not moved this turn, and increases range of Blaster Launcher (which does not scatter).	Sharpshooter +10 critical chance in all situations, +10 Aim against enemies in full cover.
	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.
Corporal	Executioner Confers +10 aim and +10 critical chance against targets at or below 50% health.	Automated Threat Assessment Confers 0.5 DR (50% chance to absorb one point of damage) at all times, and confers +15 defense when in overwatch until the unit takes an overwatch shot.	Flush Fire a shot that may cause non-flying enemies to run to new cover. The shot is easy to hit with (+30 aim), but does reduced damage (-50% base weapon damage), and consumes extra ammo (2 ammo). Hunkered units will not relocate.
	No other bonuses.	+2 Will.	No other bonuses.
Sergeant	Lone Wolf +10 Aim and Critical Chance if not within 7 tiles of an allied unit.	Advanced Fire Control Shots from Overwatch no longer suffer any Aim penalty.	Ranger Confers +1 damage with primary weapons, rocket launchers, MEC secondary weapons and sidearms. Negates the long-range accuracy penalty with sidearms when shooting beyond 14 meters.
	No other bonuses.	+2 Aim.	No other bonuses.
Tech Sergeant	Aggression Confers +10% critical chance per enemy in sight (max +30%). Aliens visible via squadsight are not counted for bonus.	Damage Control When this unit takes damage, all further damage will be reduced by 1 or 2 points (1.5 DR) for the next 2 turns.	Squadsight Allows firing at targets in any ally's sight radius within weapon range, but critical chance suffers a -20% penalty. Extended range weapons (MEC primary weapons, Marksman and Strike Rifles, and LMGs) gain roughly five extra tiles range. Sniper rifles have infinite range. Overwatch fire does not extend to squadsight ranges, except with Marksman's and Strike Rifles.
	No other bonuses.	+2 Will.	No other bonuses.
Gunnery Sergeant	Repair Servos Repairs up to 50% of damage taken (max 2 per turn). Value on icon represents repairs remaining at 2 points per hp. Additional damage taken before repairs are complete reduces how much can be repaired from prior hits by 50%.	Bring 'Em On Confers 1-4 bonus damage during critical hits (which is then multiplied by 50% due to the critical hit). The damage is higher when more enemies are in view (including squad sight vision). This results in +1.5 dmg for 1-2 enemies, +3 dmg for 3-4 enemies, +4.5 dmg for 5-6 enemies, +6 dmg for 7 or more enemies.	Shredder Ammo The Shredder debuff causes any unit hit to take 40% additional damage (after DR, rounded down) from all sources. Gunners and MECs apply the Shredder debuff for the remainder of the current turn to any target struck by their primary weapon. Rocketeers get an extra rocket that is weaker than a standard rocket (60% rounded down), cannot penetrate cover, has a +50% larger blast radius, and applies the Shredder debuff to all targets struck by the rocket for the next 3 turns.
	+2 Will.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.
Master Sergeant	Lock N' Load Primary weapons receive one additional shot or burst before a reload is required, and you may reload your primary weapon as the first action of your turn without ending the turn.	Absorption Fields Reduces most incoming damage to this unit, scaling up as damage increases. Specifically: reduces 40% of any damage taken after 2; after all other damage reduction has been applied.	Vital Point Targeting Confers 2 bonus damage with primary guns, and +1 damage with sidearms, against humans and alien targets whose species have been autopsied.
	No other bonuses.	-1 Mobility.	No other bonuses.

Stat Progression

Rank	/level	total	/level	total	/level*	total*
Specialist	1	1	4	4	2(3)	2(-3)
Lance Corporal	0	1	4	8	2(3)	4(-6)
Corporal	0	1	4	12	2(3)	6(-9)
Sergeant	1	2	4	16	2(3)	8(-12)
Tech Sergeant	0	2	4	20	2(3)	10(-15)
Gunnery Sergeant	0	2	4	24	2(3)	12(-18)
Master Sergeant	1	3	4	28	2(3)	14(-21)

• Note that, even without Hidden Potential turned on, there is a chance of gaining 1 extra will per level (shown in parentheses above).

Tactical Advice

These MECs are weak enough to be almost squishy. They are not designed for front-line combat roles like the Goliath. Instead Squadsight and In The Zone make for an extremely effective damage dealer at mid to long(ish) ranges. The Jaeger has the best aim progression of all MECs.

Sample Builds

Long-range ITZ cannon

LCPL: Platform Stability: Adds aim and crit chance to every action in the ITZ chain, if you fire without moving.

CPL: Executioner : ITZ chains often involve finishing off wounded targets.

SGT: Ranger : ITZ needs raw damage, and Ranger provides it.

TSGT: Squadsight : Core perk. Allows the Jaeger to fire from beyond visual range, enabling this extreme-damage but squishy build.

GSGT: Bring 'Em On: More damage, but only on crits, which you can't rely on for ITZ. Either of the other perks works as well - Repair Servos to take a hit, Shredder Ammo for utility on turns you can't take advantage of ITZ.

MSGT: Vital Point Targeting : ITZ need damage to continue, adding more damage. Lock N' Load is also a good choice.

This build is pure glass cannon, so it should engage from the rear of the battlefield. Squadsight requires some skill in maneuvering the unit just outside the enemy’s sight range (18 tiles). Don’t forget to bring some cover-destruction and shredder rockets with your squad in order to take full advantage of ITZ. Give the Jaeger a Battle Computer and Tactical Sensors for increased aim and defense. Since this build won’t benefit from most MEC secondary weapons, give it a Restorative Mist for a more supportive role, or Grenade Launcher to help with cover destruction (or just don't equip anything at all).

Short-range ITZ flanker

LCPL: Sharpshooter: Adds crit chance to every action in the ITZ which is important for reliable killing power.

CPL: Executioner : ITZ chains often involve finishing off wounded targets.

SGT: Lone Wolf : ITZ needs high aim and crit chance to be effective, and this build will almost always be at least 7 tiles away from the team.

TSGT: Aggression : This perk is crucial for enabling flanking shots to have 100% chance to crit even after multiple ITZ kills.

GSGT: Bring 'Em On: This perk pulls the rest of the build together, with this you should, in most cases, have a 100% chance to instantly kill most organic targets if they are flanked.

MSGT: Vital Point Targeting : ITZ needs damage to continue, adding more damage. Lock N' Load is also a good choice.

This build is an agile glass cannon, so it is best suited in a high mobility MEC platform. This unit operates on the principle that everything it shoots must die, it can move for multiple flanking shots, and then move back out of the enemies sight. The best gear is that of increasing crit chance and damage. A Scope, Targeting Module, and Battle Computer work nicely. It's even also a good idea to equip this unit with a Pulse Lance for increased crit chance.

Mid-range ITZ Tank

LCPL: Platform Stability: + aim / crit %.

CPL: Executioner : + aim / crit %.

SGT: Ranger : + dmg.

TSGT: Damage Control : +1.5 DR.

GSGT: Repair Servos: Auto-repair.

MSGT: Absorption Fields : +DR

This is a more balanced build that substitutes some of its damage-dealing abilities with tanking perks. This unit operates within enemy sight range (no Squadsight), and it can take a punch or two. Give it a Battle Computer and Core Armoring for increased tanking. Grenade launchers and proxy mines are useful when you need to hunker into One for All position.

See also

Long War: Soldiers
	Soldiers Assault Infantry Rocketeer Gunner Sniper Scout Medic Engineer
	MEC Troopers Marauder Valkyrie Archer Goliath Jaeger Pathfinder Guardian Shogun
	Officers Psionics Gene Mods S.H.I.V.s