Officers (Long War)

Officers are a new mechanic in Long War, replacing the medal system from Enemy Within. It constitutes a new upgrade path for soldiers, granting abilities that benefit the entire squad.

To begin promoting officers, an Officer Training School is required, which becomes available for construction after a soldier reaches the rank of corporal. Once it is built, officer upgrades can be purchased in the OTS menu to make billets available.

Any soldier that has the rank of at least Corporal, isn't a MEC Trooper or a Psionic and has participated in at least 5 missions can be promoted to Lieutenant as long as there is an open billet left. After that, further promotions, in addition to another OTS upgrade, require that:

• The officer must have been on at least 5 missions (3 with Not So Long War Second Wave option) at his current officer rank.
• The officer must have gained a certain minimum standard rank – Sergeant for promotion to Captain, and one more rank for every officer rank.

Officer ranks

When an officer is promoted, one of two perks can be chosen for them. This selection is permanent, but a different perk can be chosen for every officer.

• Lieutenant: Lead by Example, and either Legio Patria Nostra or Stay Frosty
• Captain: Semper Vigilans or Fortiores Una
• Major: Into the Breach or So Shall You Fight
• Colonel: Band of Warriors or Esprit de Corps
• Field Commander: So Others May Live or Combined Arms

Only the perks of the commanding (highest-ranked) officer are beneficial to the entire squad. Officer perks of a second, lower-ranking officer present on a mission benefit only that officer.

Perks

• Lead By Example: Nearby units can use the officer's Will instead of their own.
• Legio Patria Nostra: Squad receives +1 Will per nationality in the squad.
• Stay Frosty: Post-mission fatigue reduced by one day.
• Semper Vigilans: Squad members receive +5 Defense from cover.
• Fortiores Una: Nearby squad members receive extra damage reduction from cover.
• Into The Breach: Squad members at SGT rank or lower receive +25% mission XP.
• So Shall You Fight: Squad members receive +25% kill XP.
• Band Of Warriors: Squad members gain +2 aim per continent bonus XCOM has.
• Esprit de Corps: Squad members receive Will and Defense bonus.
• So Others May Live: Squad members receive permanent +1 Aim and +1 Will for completing a mission under this officer with no deaths, up to +10.
• Combined Arms: Squad members reduce enemy damage reduction from cover by 1.

Officer upgrades

Each officer rank is unlocked by purchasing an upgrade in the Officer Training School. It unlocks a number of officer billets for the new rank. Purchasing these upgrades costs money and requires a certain number of total soldier ranks (where a Specialist counts as one, a Lance Corporal as two, and so on)

Officer billets can be filled by an officer of lower rank (in other words, if you've unlocked captain, you can have 5 lieutenants, or 4 lieutenants and 1 captain, or 3 lieutenants and 2 captains). When an officer is killed or dismissed, the billet will cycle back and become available again after a few missions.

Tactical officers

• Required ranks: 20
• Cost: $100
• Unlocked billets: 3 x Lieutenant

Company officers

• Required ranks: 45
• Cost: $200
• Unlocked billets: 2 x Captain

Field officers

• Required ranks: 75
• Cost: $300
• Unlocked billets: 2 x Major

Regimental officers

• Required ranks: 110
• Cost: $400
• Unlocked billets: 2 x Colonel

Commanding officer

• Required ranks: 140
• Cost: $500
• Unlocked billets: 1 x Field Commander

Effect on fatigue

Officers recover slower from post-battle fatigue. The additional time is 6 hours per officer rank^[Verify?]