Jaeger (Long War)

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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 (better even than a 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	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.
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.	No other bonuses.	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.	No other bonuses.	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.	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.	+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	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.	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.	Light 'Em Up Standard shots no longer end the turn, if taken as the first action.
	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	1	0	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 Light 'Em Up make for an effective damage dealer at mid to long(ish) ranges. They should be treated as Marksman Rifle Scouts, with a higher damage potential.

Perk Pros and Cons:

LCPL: At this rank any perk can be useful. I would not recommend Damn Good Ground unless you plan to choose Jetboot Module over Squadsight later. Platform Stability is highly useful until MSGT when Light 'Em Up becomes available, unless you plan to move your Jaeger around a lot. Sharpshooter is good for dealing with entrenched enemies, but less useful for flanking or hitting Flying enemies. Your call.

CPL: I would recommend Flush as a support Perk. Due to the squishiness of the Jaeger, it is unlikely you will place it in a position where it needs to be on overwatch, so Automated Threat Assessment is less useful; however if you are not using it as a squadsight firing position the extra defence can be lifesaving. Aggression is never one I would recommend simply because I do not like relying on criticals to win a battle. But it's up to your personal Playstyle.

SGT: Squadsight. No ifs, no buts, my recommendation is squadsight. The mobility and altitude traversal of Jetboots is useful, but this means you will always have to put your squishiest MEC in positions it can be shot back at, which without cover can get nasty. Ranger is as worthless as ever.

TSGT: Depends on your playstyle. If you spread you troops out enough, Lone Wolf is good but is situational - especially since the Squadsight only gives you +5 tiles range, so you're still losing a couple of tiles from the distance you can fire on a spotted enemy. Executioner is nice but highly situational - though it can combine well with Light 'Em Up to maintain aim bonus after Platform Stability has worn off provided you do decent damamge. If you play the class right, you'll never need Damage Control but it can be useful if you choose to make an overwatcher Jetboot combo.

GSGT:If you're buliding a Jetboot / Threat Assessment Overwatcher here, Advanced Fire Control. If you're building a Squadsight Marksman, Shredder Ammo offers some nice support options. Bring 'Em On isn't for me due to my aforementioned reluctance to rely on Crits. Personal Choice.

MSGT: The Big Choices here. Depends on what you've built. If you're a squadsight Flanker, ITZ is amazing if you can do the damage needed. If you've gone for a Jetboot Overwatcher, you NEED Absorbtion Fields to reduce your squishiness in the late game. If you've gone for a Support Marksman, Light 'Em Up allows for greater damage potential.

Sample Builds

Marksman

Platform Stability - Flush - Squadsight - Executioner - Shredder Ammo - Light 'Em Up

A unit to sit a little behind the front lines and offer Fire support. Platform Stability will offer the already excellent aim progression of the Jaeger a little boost, Flush and Shredder offer some support options and Executioner works well with Light 'Em Up to maintain the aim bonus lost after the first shot with Platform Stability. Super Squishy. Equip a Grenade Launcher to offer additional Support by cover destruction.

Overwatcher

Damn Good Ground - Automated Threat Assessment - Jetboot Module - Damage Control - Advanced Fire Control - Absorbtion Fields

Not the strongest option for this class, the lack of health in the late game requires the use of Damage Control and Absorbtion Fields since the MEC can't take cover. DGG and Jetboot work well together to exploit rooftops, and the Defence granted by DGG combines with ATA to almost make up for the inability to take cover. AFC is not necessarily necessary due to the Jaeger's excellent aim, but with this you should hit almost every Overwatch against uncovered enemies and most against those in light cover. Equip Restorative Mist to help recover damage taken.

Flanker

Damn Good Ground - Aggression - Jetboot Module - Lone Wolf (Feeling Risky) or Damage Control (safer) - Bring 'Em On - In the Zone

A dangerous game to play, if you have an accidental trigger of a high Damage enemy (Cyberdisc, Sectopod etc.) then your Jaeger may become toasted. This build relies on exploiting the bonus to Critical chance offered by a flank with the high mobility options of Jetboot module. Depending on how many people you can see and how far away you're flanking from the rest of your team, the % bonus critical chance from Lone Wolf and Aggression can start to stack up. Combine that with Flank bonus and Bonus damage from Bring 'Em On and you have a killer. ITZ lets you chain a couple of weak enemies then run away like the squishy thing that you are. If you're playing with the Second Wave option that makes all flanks criticals, you can ignore the critical Chance boosters and choose something else. Equip Flamethrower for close combat screaming or Restorative Mist to recover damage taken.

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