Scout (Long War)

The Scout is a unique class that doesn't have an equivalent in vanilla XCOM, combining elements of Assaults and Snap Shot Snipers. The Scout's signature ability is Lightning Reflexes, greatly reducing the chance to be hit by overwatch fire while moving. Scouts are the only class other than Snipers that can use marksman rifles, but they cannot use sniper rifles.

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

Secondary Weapon: Sidearm

Abilities

Rank	Ability
Specialist	Lightning Reflexes Reduces hit chance from overwatch fire by 90% for the first shot, and 75% for subsequent shots.
	No other bonuses.[Verify?]
Lance Corporal	Damn Good Ground +10 Aim and +10 Defense against enemies at lower elevation in addition to the usual elevation bonuses (including while flying).	Battlescanner Scanning device, when thrown creates a new source of vision for 2 turns. Can only be used 2 times per battle.	Rapid Reaction Confers a second reaction shot, if on Overwatch and the first reaction shot is a hit.
	'	'	'
Corporal	Lone Wolf +10 Aim and Crit when no allies within 7 tiles.	Flush Fire a shot that causes enemies to run out of cover. The shot is easy to hit with, but does reduced damage.	Steadfast Immune to panic, except Psi Panic.
	'	'	'
Sergeant	Sprinter +3 mobility.	Low Profile Low cover counts as full.	Ranger +1 damage with primary weapon.
	'	'	'
Tech Sergeant	Lock N' Load '	Tactical Sense Confers +5 Defense per enemy in sight (max +20).	Aggression Confers +10% critical chance per enemy in sight (max +30%).
	'	'	'
Gunnery Sergeant	In The Zone Killing a flanked or uncovered target with a primary weapon does not cost an action.	Rapid Fire Take two shots against a single target in quick succession. Each shot carries a -15 penalty to Aim.	Snap Shot Removes the sniper rifle's restriction on firing and Overwatch after moving. Any shots taken suffer a -10 Aim penalty.
	'	'	'
Master Sergeant	Resilience Confers immunity to critical hits.	Vital Point Targeting Additional 2 damage against any human target and any alien that has been autopsied.	Extra Conditioning Confers bonus health based on which type of armor is equipped. Heavier armor increases the bonus.
	'	'	'

Stat Progression

Rank	HP at level	Total HP	Aim at level	Total Aim
Specialist	0	0	5	5
Lance Corporal	0	0	3	8
Corporal	1	1	3	11
Sergeant	0	1	3	14
Tech Sergeant	0	1	3	17
Gunnery Sergeant	0	1	3	20
Master Sergeant	1	2	5	25

Tactical Advice

Role: Scout / Mobile Offense

In Long War, battlefield awareness is very important and the rebalanced ranges for weapons mean that line of sight and situational awareness is more important than ever. This is where the Scout comes into play.

Scouts have a great deal of flexibility in how they can be built. Here are some roles they can fill:

• Point-man

A major role of the Scout class is leading the charge, drawing out overwatch fire with their Lightning Reflexes so that the rest of the squad can advance. A Scout specialized in this role will be built defensively, with perks such as Tactical Sense, Low Profile and Resilience. They will typically be armed with SMGs for mobility or shotguns for short range damage when they get the chance.

• Close range combatant

Scouts are mobile enough to act a lot like an Assault, getting flanks at close range even without Run & Gun. A key perk to getting the most out of Scouts in this role is In The Zone, allowing a Scout to move up to an enemy, kill them (or even several of them, which Assaults can't do) with point blank shotgun flanks and then move back to safety.

• Mid-to-long range flanker

This is a role somewhat unique to the Scout, though particularly mobile Snipers can also do it. A flanker Scout will use their mobility to move around the side and get a flanking shot at medium-to-long range, generally with a Marksman Rifle.

Any of these roles can also benefit from the Scout's support perks such as Holo-Targeting, Battle Scanner and Flush.

Incidentally, Scouts also make for great covert operatives, as their wide variety of perks that increase mobility and survivability help immensely during Covert Operations against Exalt cells.