Shogun (Long War)

   Shogun

MEC variant of the Engineer class.

Primary Weapon: MEC Primary Weapons

Secondary Weapon: MEC Secondary Weapon Systems

Class-Limited items: MEC Equipment items

Abilities

Rank	Ability
Specialist	Collateral Damage Area of effect attack that destroys most cover and hits all eligible targets for 1/3rd damage. Unlike most abilities, damage increasing items and perks also only apply 1/3rd damage (note: HEAT and flak cannot be reduced below +2 damage though). This attack cannot critically hit. Shredder ammo and holo-targeting are NOT applied.
	No other bonuses.
Lance Corporal	Packmaster Limited-use small items (including those from perks) receive 1 additional use.	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.	HEAT Ammo Your primary weapon, not including shotguns, does an additional 50% of its base weapon damage to robotic enemies after any damage reduction is assessed.
	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.
Corporal	HEAT Warheads Your rockets and grenades do an additional 50% damage to robotic enemies after damage reduction is assessed.	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.	Deadeye Confers +15 aim against flying targets.
	No other bonuses.	+2 Will.	No other bonuses.
Sergeant	Mayhem Confers +2 damage for suppression, SAWs, LMGs, explosive grenades, proximity mines and rocket launchers. Confers +4 damage for sniper and long rifles, marksman's, strike and reflex rifles using Standard Shot or Precision Shot.	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%.	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.
Tech Sergeant	Sapper Increases grenade and proximity mine damage by +1. Also triples damage to the environment.	Shock-Absorbent Armor Damage received from enemies within 4 tiles is reduced by 33%.	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.
Gunnery Sergeant	Tandem Warheads Explosives employed by this soldier do full damage to the maximum extent of their area of effect.	Rapid Fire Take two shots against a single target in quick succession. Each shot carries a -15 penalty to Aim.	Light 'Em Up Standard shots no longer end the turn, if taken as the first action.
	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.
Master Sergeant	Grenadier Allows 2 destructive grenades in a single inventory slot, and the soldier may throw grenades 20 percent further.	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.	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.
	No other bonuses.	-1 Mobility	No other bonuses.

Stat Progression

Rank	/ Level			Total
			*			*
Specialist	1	3	2(-3)	1	3	2(-3)
Lance Corporal	0	2	2(-3)	1	5	4(-6)
Corporal	1	2	2(-3)	2	7	6(-9)
Sergeant	1	3	2(-3)	3	10	8(-12)
Tech Sergeant	1	2	2(-3)	4	12	10(-15)
Gunnery Sergeant	0	2	2(-3)	4	14	12(-18)
Master Sergeant	1	3	2(-3)	5	17	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

Intended Role: Mid-range Offensive/Defensive Support

Fitting its name, the Shogun ("Warlord") is - like the Engineer - a specialist in battlefield control, destroying enemy cover using Collateral Damage and Sapper. Whilst it doesn't have the raw range of the Archer, the Shogun can also act as a highly effective antimech platform using HEAT Warheads and HEAT Ammo to put the hurt on Mechtoids, Cyberdiscs, and other mechanical foes. Packmaster and Grenadier also increase the number of grenade uses, allowing for sustained bombardment throughout longer missions.

Unlike the Archer, the Shogun is a little more durable when it comes to defenses - but care should also be taken to protect it from enemy units that may also gain HEAT Ammo via Alien Research; unfortunately, most of these enemies are also the kind that the Shogun excels in destroying. Consider using a more 'vulnerable' and expendable SHIV to act as a close-range decoy.

Remember to pick up the Alien Grenades Foundry project to increase the firepower of any MEC Grenade Launchers employed by the Shogun.

Sample Builds

Anti-Mech Utili-Tank

Perk progression
-	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Sergeant	Tech Sergeant	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Perk by tier	HEAT Ammo	Deadeye	Repair Servos	Shock-Absorbent Armor	Rapid Fire	Absorption Fields
Build Overview
Stat Boosts	-
Strengths	Killing large mechanical units from up close
Weaknesses	Long range shootouts
Preferred battle sites	-
Most common Loadout	Kinetic Strike Module, Flamethrower; Battle Computer, Core Armoring, AP ammo
Power Ranks	GSG for DPS; MSG for tanking
Description	This soldier specializes in dealing massive damage up close to large mech units, using Rapid Fire with HEAT Ammo and surviving with several tank perks (Kinetic Strike Module works with HEAT Ammo as well). This Shogun takes Deadeye to deal with pesky Cyberdisks as well. When not facing robots, the Shogun deploys unlimited cover destruction and tanks for your squad.
Strategic Analysis	This MEC build is comparable to a HEAT gunner. Both have similar offensive ability, with Rapid Fire + HEAT ammo and similar aim growth (although a shogun will hit flying Cyberdisks more reliably). The primary difference is in tanking ability. A HEAT gunner has more DR if they are in cover, not flanked, and have DR increasing items. A Shogun has more DR if he is within 4 tiles of his aggressor, and is in a MEC-4 or MEC-5 suit. An Anti-Mech Shogun is most useful if you don't have HEAT gunners, find them difficult to keep safe, or find them too unreliable when faced with Cyberdisks.

Explosives Specialist

Perk progression
-	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Sergeant	Tech Sergeant	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Perk by tier	Packmaster	HEAT Warheads	Mayhem	Sapper	Tandem Warheads	Grenadier
Build Overview
Stat Boosts	-
Strengths	AOE damage, cover destruction
Weaknesses	Brittle (for a MEC)
Preferred battle sites	Long missions: Alien Base Assaults, Landed Large UFOs
Most common Loadout	Grenade & Proximity Mine Launchers; Tactical Sensors, Core Armoring, either Hi Cap Mags or Flak Ammo (for synergy with Collateral Damage)
Power Ranks	MSG, needs Grenadier for both grenade range and quantity
Description	This MEC trooper overwhelms the enemy with a huge amount of explosives. With a total of 4 grenades per slot or 5 proximity mines per slot at MSGT, they can rain down cover destruction and AOE damage over the course of several engagements. During small engagements where a grenade is unnecessary, Collateral Damage can be used instead to save consumables. Take this MEC when you want lots of cover destruction and AOE damage, but the mission will be too long for a Rocketeer to fill this role. However, care must be taken with these MEC troopers due to their fragile nature. Always keep the Explosives Shogun in One For All mode, and try to place them behind obstacles such that enemies cannot see them, but the Shogun's explosives can still reach the enemy.
Strategic Analysis	This Shogun build is very similar to a typical Archer build. The disadvantage of the Shogun is that they lack Danger Zone and Bombard, so explosives must be launched at medium range and they have a smaller area of effect. However, an Archer must sacrifice Collateral Damage and Tandem Warheads if they want Packmaster and Grenadier. Therefore, a Shogun excels in situations where the Archer would be out of explosives, and an Archer excels in situations where the Shogun would be too far back to use his explosives effectively.

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