Guardian (Long War)

Guardian

MEC variant of the Medic class. Guardians are classically specialised in Restorative Mist use, and can greatly increase both its charges and effectiveness. Guardians can also specialise in improving overwatch, and also have a decent selection of defensive perks.

Primary Weapon: MEC Primary Weapons

Secondary Weapon: MEC Secondary Weapon Systems

Class-Limited items: MEC Equipment items

Abilities

Rank	Ability
Specialist	Opportunist Opportunist Eliminates the Aim penalty on reaction shots, and allows reaction shots to cause critical hits.
Specialist	No other bonuses.
Lance Corporal	Field Medic 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.	Steadfast Steadfast Never panic as a result of getting wounded, allies panicking, allies getting wounded or killed, or the intimidation ability.	Ranger 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.
Lance Corporal	No other bonuses.	+5 Will.	No other bonuses.
Corporal	Platform Stability 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).	Automated Threat Assessment 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.	Covering Fire Covering Fire Allows certain reaction shots to trigger on many enemy actions, not just movement (excludes reload, overwatch, and hunker down actions).
Corporal	No other bonuses.	+2 Will.	No other bonuses.
Sergeant	Packmaster Packmaster Limited-use small items (including those from perks) receive 1 additional use.	Repair Servos 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%.	Sentinel Sentinel Allows two reaction shots during Overwatch, instead of only one.
Sergeant	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.
Tech Sergeant	Savior Savior Provides 2 item-free medikit charges and +4 healing bonus to medikits. Restorative Mist units restore three more health per use.	Deadeye Deadeye Confers +15 aim against flying targets.	Reactive Targeting Sensors Reactive Targeting Sensors Unit gets a free shot back at the first enemy who attacks the MEC each turn, provided there's enough ammo to do so.
Tech Sergeant	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.	+2 Aim, +2 Will.
Gunnery Sergeant	Vital Point Targeting 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.	Lock N' Load 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.	Absorption Fields 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.
Gunnery Sergeant	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.	-1 Mobility.
Master Sergeant	Ready for Anything Ready for Anything If the unit fires without taking any other costly action, it automatically enters overwatch at the end of its turn.	Damage Control 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.	Double Tap Double Tap Allows a second action restricted to Standard Shot, Precision Shot, or Disabling Shot as long as the first action was a Standard Shot, Precision Shot, Disabling Shot, or Flush provided no costly actions were taken. 1 turn cooldown. (Note: Double Tap is cancelled in the following cases: (1) the first shot results in a kill, and no more enemies are visible to the unit, or (2) for gunners only, the first shot depletes the ammo.)
Master Sergeant	+2 Aim, +2 Will.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.

Stat Progression

Rank	/ Level			Total
Rank			*			*
Specialist	1	3	2(-3)	1	3	2(-3)
Lance Corporal	0	3	2(-3)	1	6	4(-6)
Corporal	1	3	2(-3)	2	9	6(-9)
Sergeant	0	3	2(-3)	2	12	8(-12)
Tech Sergeant	1	3	2(-3)	3	15	10(-15)
Gunnery Sergeant	0	3	2(-3)	3	18	12(-18)
Master Sergeant	1	3	2(-3)	4	21	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).

Sample Builds

Overwatch / Healer


Perk progression
-	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Sergeant	Tech Sergeant	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Perk by tier	Field Medic Field Medic	Covering Fire Covering Fire	Sentinel Sentinel	Savior Savior	Lock N' Load Lock N' Load	Ready for Anything Ready for Anything
Build Overview
Stat Boosts	+2 Aim; + 2 Will
Strengths	Overwatch dmg/utility, massive healing potential
Weaknesses	Lack of tank perks and/or Squadsight leaves it somewhat vulnerable to heavy burst dmg
Preferred battle sites	Heavy contact missions such as big UFOs, council missions, and alien base assaults
Most common Loadout	Heavy Exo suit; Restorative mist(s); Battle Computer/Tactical Sensors; Core Armoring
Power Ranks	TSG healing, GSG for sustainable overwatch
Description	Other than the Valkyrie, the Guardian is the other MEC unit that provides great OW perks with a high Aim progression (+21 total Aim at MSGT). This build is a natural upgrade to the OW Medic build. The unit can fire up to 3 times per turn including reaction fire on enemy actions. It is also a great healer - each Restorative Mist item is tripled by Field Medic and made more effective by Savior. So, with up to 9 RMs in your bag, your supply of HP is unlikely to ever run dry even on the longest missions.
Strategic Analysis	When possible, try to spread out incoming damage among your squad in order to maximize the effectiveness of each Restorative Mist by healing multiple units simultaneously. The OW Guardian doesn't benefit too much from other secondary weapons since on most turns it will either fire/OW or reload/OW. On shorter missions, where you are unlikely to need 9 RMs, consider equipping a grenade launcher or a flame thrower. Equip anything that increases aim and defense (e.g. Battle Computer, Tactical Sensors), or a Core Armoring to prevent critical hits when taking damage is inevitable.

Tank / Healer


Perk progression
-	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Sergeant	Tech Sergeant	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Perk by tier	Field Medic Field Medic	Automated Threat Assessment Automated Threat Assessment	Repair Servos Repair Servos	Savior Savior	Absorption Fields Absorption Fields	Damage Control Damage Control
Build Overview
Stat Boosts	+2 will, -1 mobility
Strengths	Limited overwatch utility, exceptional tanking, massive healing
Weaknesses	Limited engagement potential outside of overwatch
Preferred battle sites	Heavy contact missions such as big UFOs, council missions, and alien base assaults
Most common Loadout	Heavy Exo Suit; Restorative Mist(s); Core Armoring; Alien Trophy
Power Ranks	TSG for healing, GSG for tanking
Description	The Guardian tank build is much more versatile than the Goliath tank. This "armored ambulance" can not only take a punch, but it can also heal itself and everyone around it with a healthy supply of Restorative Mist.
Strategic Analysis	Put it in a MEC-5 suit and load up on RM. Equip a Core Armoring and Alloy Carbide Plating to maximize tanking, and a Battle Computer for increased aim / defense. The Guardian tank is also more proficient than the Goliath at using its primary weapon due to its +10 aim progression and the Opportunist perk. Most of the time the unit will be hunkering down into One for All position, and either OW with ATA, or heal. This build is a suitable upgrade to any support/field medic that doesn't need to be Psionic.

Overwatch / Tank


Perk progression
-	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Sergeant	Tech Sergeant	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Perk by tier	Steadfast Steadfast	Automated Threat Assessment Automated Threat Assessment	Repair Servos Repair Servos	Reactive Targeting Sensors Reactive Targeting Sensors	Absorption Fields Absorption Fields	Damage Control Damage Control
Build Overview
Stat Boosts	+9 will, +2 aim, -1 mobility
Strengths	Exceptional tanking, Overwatch utility, Secondary weapons not relegated to mists
Weaknesses	Gives up unique healing utility of FM+Savior builds, relies on secondary weapons to be proactive in fights
Preferred battle sites	All
Most common Loadout	Heavy Exo Suit; Flamethrower(s); Grenade Launcher; Core Armoring; Incinerator Module; SCOPE
Power Ranks	TSG for Overwatching, GSG for tanking
Description	If the healing potential of the Guardian is not needed or doesn't interest you, a more straightforward tanking and overwatching build can be made. Also, not taking the Restorative Mist perks frees up your secondary weapon slots to be more versatile and proactive. If you are already satisfied with the tanking power of ATA, Absorption Fields, and Damage Control then Repair Servos can be dropped for Packmaster to stack up on flamethrowers and/or grenades for long missions.
Strategic Analysis	The plan of engagement with this build is simple: absorb fire, lockdown enemies with overwatch, and punish anything that gets too close with secondary weapons. Stacking flamethrowers boosted with an incinerator module puts the power of the sun in the palm of your hands, turning the Guardian into a mobile cremation oven that can potentially oneshot groups of lesser or weakened aliens while also destroying cover and panicking any hapless survivors. A grenade launcher can also be used to pop cover with more range. Don't give any item that increases Defense, or aliens will likely ignore it and shoot at your other troops.