Medic (Long War)

    Medic

The Medic is similar to a Field Medic specialized Support in vanilla XCOM. Their signature ability is Field Medic, which grants one free use of a medikit per mission and allows additional Medikit items to be used two times per battle instead of one.

Primary Weapon: Carbines, Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles, SMGs, Shotguns.

Secondary Weapon: Pistols, Machine pistols, Sawed-off shotgun.

Class-Limited items: None.

Abilities

Rank	Ability
Specialist	Field Medic For soldiers, grants one free use of a medikit per mission and allows additional medikit items to be used two times per battle instead of one. Also allows Restorative Mist items to be used three times per battle instead of once.
	+1 Mobility.
Lance Corporal	Suppression Fire a barrage that pins down a target, granting Opportunist reaction fire against it if it moves. Imposes a -30 penalty to aim and reduces range of many area-of-effect attacks, including grenades. Also negates overwatch from the target while suppression is active. Lastly, enemy AI prioritizes breaking the suppression by shooting the suppressor, so it functions as a mini-taunt. Not possible with shotguns, sniper rifles, or strike rifles.	Steadfast Never panic as a result of getting wounded, allies panicking, allies getting wounded or killed, or the intimidation ability.	Field Surgeon Reduces (or, for 1 HP flesh wounds, eliminates) Wounded timer on soldiers who sustained HP damage but were not Critically Wounded. Does not affect wound sustained by sending fatigued soldier on a mission.
	No other bonuses.	+5 Will.	No other bonuses.
Corporal	Rapid Reaction If on Overwatch, confers a bonus reaction shot (to a maximum three shots total) for every reaction shot that is a hit.	Smoke & Mirrors Allows one additional use of all support grenades during each mission. It also increases charges from Smoke Grenade and Battlescanner perks by 1.	Revive Allows Medikits to revive critically wounded Soldiers at 33% of maximum health instead of just stabilizing them.
	+3 Aim.	No other bonuses.	+2 Will.
Sergeant	Ready for Anything If the unit fires without taking any other costly action, it automatically enters overwatch at the end of its turn.	Smoke Grenade Deploy a smoke grenade once per mission. The smoke confers +20 defense and prevents flanking for all enemy and allied units. Lasts 2 turns. Taking the perk on level up also allows an additional action after deploying a smoke grenade.	Paramedic Once per turn, this unit may use a medikit without spending an action.
	+3 Will.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.
Tech Sergeant	Opportunist Eliminates the Aim penalty on reaction shots, and allows reaction shots to cause critical hits.	Dense Smoke Increases the defense bonus from smoke grenade from 20 to 40.	Combat Drugs Smoke grenades confer +20 Will and +20% critical chance in addition to the original 20 defense. The area of effect is also increased by 25%.
	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.
Gunnery 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.	Bombard Throw or launch grenades over exceptionally long distances (+50%).	Sprinter Grants +4 mobility (roughly 3 tiles movement).
	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.
Master Sergeant	Extra Conditioning Confers 1-4 bonus health based on which type of armor is equipped. Heavier armor increases the bonus.	Packmaster Limited-use small items (including those from perks) receive 1 additional use.	Savior Provides 2 item-free medikit charges and +4 healing bonus to medikits. Restorative Mist units restore three more health per use.
	+4 Aim, +4 Will, +1 Mobility.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.

*Perks tagged with blue are fixed even with Second Wave Training Roulette option is enabled

Stat Progression

Rank	/ Level			Total
			*			*
Specialist	1	3	6(-7)	1	3	6(-7)
Lance Corporal	0	2	6(-7)	1	5	12(-14)
Corporal	0	3	4(-5)	1	8	16(-19)
Sergeant	1	2	3(-4)	2	10	19(-23)
Tech Sergeant	0	3	3(-4)	2	13	22(-27)
Gunnery Sergeant	0	2	3(-4)	2	15	25(-31)
Master Sergeant	1	3	3(-4)	3	18	28(-35)

• Note that, even without Hidden Potential turned on, there is a chance of gaining 1 extra will per level (shown in parentheses above). Psionic soldiers can also gain 1-6 extra will per psi level (1 + rand(6)).

Tactical Advice

Medics are a diverse class focused on healing and supporting their squad. Each medic lends a hand in a different way but all of them are good healers and have ways to deny the enemy good shots on your team. How you build your Medic is, of course, up to you but they generally focus on three main support types: Field Medic healing squad, Tactical Support providing cover and defense or the Battle Medic providing fire support. If you choose to be a purist in a role or a jack of all trades it's up to you.

If you are debating whether Savior or Packmaster is the most worthwhile final choice consider the following:

• Basic medic gets 1 free use without a Medikit item, and 3 with the item
• With Packmaster, they'll get 2 itemless uses, and 5 with the item-- as well as additional uses of any other consumables (grenades, Battle Scanners, Arc Throwers, ect)
• With Savior, 3 itemless uses, and 5 when carrying the Medikit (in addition to the +4 healing boost per medkit)

Or if Training Roulette puts Packmaster in another rank, and you decide to get both it and Savior; you get 4 free item-less uses, and a whopping 7 uses with Savior, Packmaster, and the Medikit item together: hopefully, mission survival won't call on you to need that many heal charges. A Guardian MEC unit would be a more efficient healer if damage is spread out amongst your team, or you may want to rethink your strategies in the first place. You may, however, find use for this many medikits on a Medic being used as a dedicated attendant to a strong tank MEC such as a Goliath.

If you are debating whether to take Field Surgeon, don't. The perk has no effect whatsoever in an actual battle, and its effect on the strategic layer of the game is minimal at best and equally nonexistent at worst. Suppression utility and the panic immunity + will boost of Steadfast both HEAVILY outcompete it, and no serious build should ever take it. If you think wound timers are too long, you are genuinely better off and will have more fun by just shortening them with a simple .ini edit.

Sample Builds

Field Medic

Perk progression
-	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Sergeant	Tech Sergeant	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Perk by tier	Steadfast	Revive	Paramedic	Opportunist	Sprinter	Savior
Build Overview
Stat Boosts	+7 will
Strengths	large healing potential, decent overwatch support
Weaknesses	vulnerable to concentrated fire, limited engagement potential outside of overwatch
Preferred battle sites	All, especially long missions that will require healing
Most common Loadout	Medkit(s), other support items
Power Ranks	SGT and MSG for healing output, TSG for overwatch utility
Description	These medics are support units and are geared towards defensive roles. Their titular Field Medic perk makes them invaluable during longer operations, such as the Alien Base Assault or Battleship UFO missions. Steadfast’s will boost makes medics with this perk very good candidates for psionic or officer training, both of which will also increase their support utility. However, Steadfast can be dropped for Suppression to take a more active role in the fight. And if Suppression is taken, consider dropping Sprinter for Lock N Load to keep ammo flowing. Opportunist is taken because no other perk synergizes with smoke grenades, but a smoke grenade upgrade can be taken if you don’t want to overwatch and plan on bringing at least one smoke grenade every mission.
Strategic Analysis	Try to keep the squad topped off on health for the duration of the mission, though minor chip damage can be ignored to save charges for more serious wounds especially on longer missions. Overwatch whenever possible for the lockdown utility against units that respect it as well as the potential for landing very good, high damage shots on any enemies that challenge it by moving. Medics lack any real tank perks but with Paramedic they can immediately heal themselves without spending any action points if they get hit, so give them heavier armor to take advantage of their minor damage absorption capabilities and since they won’t be going for any aggressive flanks.

Tactical Support

Perk progression
-	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Sergeant	Tech Sergeant	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Perk by tier	Steadfast	Smoke & Mirrors	Smoke Grenade	Dense Smoke	Bombard	Packmaster
Build Overview
Stat Boosts	+5 will
Strengths	support grenade master
Weaknesses	almost no offensive potential, grenade supply is limited
Preferred battle sites	All
Most common Loadout	support grenade(s), medikit
Power Ranks	SGT for support options, GSG for range, MSG for longevity
Description	Here medics are more than healing units, focusing on defensive support items. Smoke and Mirrors, Dense Smoke and Packmaster make them great at creating cover for advancing friendly troops and keeping them from getting hit, with Combat Drugs available to put an offensive twist on smoke grenades if desired. This medic tries to prevent allies from taking damage in the first place rather than heal off damage inflicted, so medikits are less preferred at held items but can still be taken on longer missions. Psionic or officer training is highly recommended due to high will and endless desire for more support options. Can feel mediocre in early/mid game until GSG/MSG ranks and psi/officer abilities truly enable the build.
Strategic Analysis	Due to their defensive support perks it is advised to them keep away from the front lines, working best when they can lay down covering smoke or debuff enemies. Offensive support grenades like Chems and Flashbangs can be difficult to use safely until Bombard, so consider stocking up on Smoke and Medikits until then. When advancing forward out of cover, make sure the medic is the last to move so that if needed a smoke grenade can be deployed to save anyone left standing out in the open.

Battle Medic

Perk progression
-	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Sergeant	Tech Sergeant	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Perk by tier	Suppression	Rapid Reaction	Ready for Anything	Opportunist	Lock N' Load	Extra Conditioning
Build Overview
Stat Boosts	+7 will, +7 aim, +1 mobility
Strengths	good overwatch utility/dmg
Weaknesses	lacks support of other medic builds
Preferred battle sites	All
Most common Loadout	SCOPE, medikit
Power Ranks	LCL for utility, TSG for dmg, GSG for ammo supply
Description	These Medics focus on using accurate guns to punish enemies for anything they try. With Rapid Reaction, Ready for Anything, and Opportunist, they are death machines capable of attacking and overwatching the same turn. Suppression is useful for giving a utility option to an otherwise fully aggressive build, but will go through ammo very quickly until Lock N Load is picked up. To sacrifice some offensive potential for more healing support, Ready for Anything and Extra Conditioning can be dropped for Paramedic and Savior. This build unfortunately does not become powerful until TSGT, when they can pick up Opportunist.
Strategic Analysis	Early on, simply suppressing enemies will be the most consistent means of using this soldier (consider bringing Hi Cap Mags to suppress twice before needing to reload). Once Opportunist enables Rapid Reaction to be consistent, however, a lot of damage can be dealt out. Lack of Covering Fire means Flush support is greatly recommended to prevent being too passive.

Field Surgeon

Field Surgeon removes 1 HP worth of damage taken in combat at the end of the mission for every wounded soldier before the fatigue/hospital calculation takes place. Wound times are calculated according to the soldier's lowest HP at any point in the mission; deeper wounds lead (linearly) to larger Wounded timers (before Fatigue time is added on). Thus, with Field Surgeon, a soldier who only sustained 1 HP of health (not armor) damage will not require any hospital time. For soldiers with "deeper wounds" (more than 1 HP lost), Field Surgeon will calculate Wounded timers as if the maximum damage sustained on the mission were 1 less.

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