Marauder (LWR)
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MEC variant of the Infantry and Assault classes. Marauders are designed to get up close and personal, causing havoc at close range with point blank flanking shots, flamethrowers and kinetic strikes. They are primarily offensive class and have ways to stay relevant and important damage dealer throughout whole campaign.
- Primary Weapon: MEC Primary Weapons
- Secondary Weapon: MEC Secondary Weapon Systems
- Class-Limited items: MEC Equipment items
- Attribute Growth: HP x2, Mob x2.
Abilities
| Rank | Ability | ||||||
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 Specialist |
 Onslaught
The first use of the Kinetic Strike Module each turn will leave this unit with 1 AP but reduces mobility to 3.3 tiles during their next action. Grants Ram.  Ram
If this unit moves at least 6 tiles in a mostly straight line towards the tile directly in front of an enemy, this unit will hit that enemy for x melee damage, where x is half of the distance moved + 1 for every 10 max HP this unit has. | ||||||
 Lance Corporal |
 Dash and Bash Allows a Kinetic Strike at 0 AP if the last AP was spent moving. When active, KSM attacks gain +50% base weapon damage and disables the AP discount from Onslaught. Cannot activate if out of ammo. 2 turn cooldown. |
 Close Combat Specialist Grants a reaction shot at any enemy within 4 tiles that acts. Reaction shot only activates on enemy's turn, once per enemy. [Basic reaction shots bypass half of cover DR/def, cannot crit, and require hit chance >30] |
 Jetboot Module When activated, grants +3.3 mobility and the ability to jump to normally inaccessible heights for the rest of the turn. 2 turn cooldown. Does not break hidden abilities (Cloaking, Shadow, Stealth, or Ghosting). | ||||
 Corporal |
 Brawler If this unit is idle and has not been damaged this turn, incoming shots within 4 tiles graze (dealing only half of the original damage). |
 Grit
Grants +4 armor HP and %DR equal to a quarter of the % total HP lost. |
 Fortified
Grants immunity to critical hits. Injury and fatigue times are reduced by 15%. | ||||
 Sergeant |
.png) Lone Wolf
Grants 10 aim, crit, def and crit resist if not within 6 tiles of an allied unit. |
 Lock n' Load
Reloading any weapon costs only 1 AP and dashing automatically reloads the active weapon. |
 Repulsor If at full HP, non-psionic attacks are repulsed, causing them to graze (dealing only half of the original damage) | ||||
 Tech Sergeant |
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 Gunnery Sergeant |
 Repair Servos Repairs damage sustained in battle: When damaged, gain servos equal to 50% of the damage sustained. Each servo can heal 1 HP. At end of turn, use 20% the servos available (minimum 1). Active servos are removed if this unit is fully healed or corroded. |
 Extra Conditioning
Grants +2 armor HP and +0.6 mobility, and a 10% chance for all end-in-idle actions to cost 0 AP. |
 Bring 'Em On
This unit gains +0.5 damage on standard shots and incoming non-psionic attacks have a +5% graze chance for each enemy in sight. | ||||
 Master Sergeant |
 Shadowstep
This unit gains +0.6 mobility and does not trigger reaction shots or pursuit when walking (not dashing). After repositioning, shots gain +25% crit damage until next turn. |
 Vital Point Targeting
When hitting humans or autopsied biological aliens: steadied shots, reaction shots, or shots at targets not protected by cover double the bleed chance and deal 30% more damage. | |||||
Tactical Advice
Marauders essentially act like the MEC version of Assaults; their goal is to dive into enemy lines, deliver a crippling punch, then either shoot for more damage, tank shots with One for All, or get out, all possible thanks to the free action Onslaught provides. As that SPEC perk may imply, the Kinetic Strike Module (KSM) is a core item on every Marauder. Marauders are excellent first mech to build, with KSM they can't miss so damage is guaranteed and close range makes it easier to land follow up ranged shot. They are often capable of killing two aliens per turn, punching one and shooting the other.
They excel on the offensive front and will always be one of the top damage dealers in the squad. One of their strongest use is in killing hard to hit Chryssalids on terror missions, while later in the game they are one of the best counters to Sectoid Commanders, Ethereals and Sectopods. Going after the strongest aliens makes them exposed and always in danger, but their perk tree gives them a good number of defensive options. They aren't as tanky as the likes of a Shogun or Goliath can be, but they can hold their own in a pinch with an appropriate build. One of their notable weaknesses is their trouble dealing with flying units that they can't punch.
Punching cover will destroy even UFO walls, open flanking opportunities and has many advanced usages.
Sample Builds
Dash and Bash Marauder
Marauders that take Dash and Bash are very much like the Assaults that they came from. With a high natural mobility and plenty of ways to increase it even further through perks and items, this build can be anywhere any time that Dash and Bash is active. The build is also prime candidate for taking advantage of Ram and its movement scaling. It is perhaps the best scaling Marauder build for late game. Its weakness is shot damage that will be lacking against anything mechanical or crit-resistant, however, KSM can make up for this weakness with its strong penetrating damage. Take note that Dash and Bash will disable AP discount for KSM punch, once you knock out the alien the turn is over. Additionally, this build is never going to be especially tanky; be careful if multiple enemies are around. There are couple of ways of playing the build, picking offensive perk like Brawler to guarantee kills is good offensively, but better long term solution is probably picking tanky perks. Marauder is primary puncher and in any case for less experienced players its good idea to pick some defensive perks, like Grit or Repulsor.
Sample Dash and Bash Build:
Dash and Bash -> Grit -> Repulsor -> Sprinter -> Repair Servos -> Shadowstep
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Recommended Equipment: Kinetic Strike Module, Thumper, Light MEC suit, Flamethrower/Granade launcher for AOE, Survivability-increasers
Notes:
- Both MEC Suits can work well for this build; note that even with a heavy MEC suit, your tanking will be limited.
- Besides the mandatory KSM, other MEC secondaries all have their own uses for this build:
- Grenade Launchers, Gravity Mines, Flamethrowers, and Electropulses all give you additional options, having AOE damage is quite beneficial
- Restorative Mist is solid on any MEC, espec. if you pick Repulsor
CCS Marauder
Close Combat Specialist Marauders function similarly to Pistolero Assaults, dashing into the fray and dishing out damage with multiple CCS shots. This build can deal lots of damage at times, essentially being close range AOE, just make sure that Marauder has always enough ammo to shoot. This build's weakness is it being the least tanky due to the inability to use One for All alongside Close Combat Specialist. To avoid injuries think twice before running into multiple strong enemies on higher difficulties. This build can use offensive perks very well, Brawler will make sure that Marauder hits the target, Bring 'Em On gives extra damage, aim and graze chance, and Vital Point Targeting scales damage well to guarantee kills on bio enemies. Lock n' Load is available for reloading ammo, which has synergy when dashing into aliens - the ammo is auto reloaded on dash. Whatever you choose, its probably good idea to pick some defensive perks, as he will inevitably be shot at.
Sample CCS Build:
Close Combat Specialist -> Brawler or Grit -> Lock N' Load -> Sprinter -> Repair Servos or Bring 'Em On -> Vital Point Targeting
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Recommended Equipment: Kinetic Strike Module, Heavy MEC Suit, Survivability-increasers, Ammo-increasers
Notes:
- A heavy MEC suit is recommended as the nature of a CCS build puts you into dangerous situations frequently. Repair Servos would work well with heavy armor. You will dash more, shoot more, punch less.
- Light MEC suit works as well if you decide to be more mobile and elusive, but you should make sure to position properly. You will move more, punch more, shoot a bit less. So Bring 'Em On for the extra graze chances would make sense too.
- Beyond the mandatory KSM, the Restorative Mist works well as a mostly passive equipment for a build that can struggle with action economy.
- This build can specialize in more damage or more tankiness:
- At CPL, Brawler gives more offensive power, whereas Grit provides more HP and DR.
- At GSGT, Repair Servos represents a ton of healing especially for heavy MEC suits, whereas Bring 'Em On is a more universal upgrade.
Jetboot Marauder
Jetboot Marauders are about as "pure" as a Marauder can get, focusing heavily on punching enemies wherever they may be. For this build, the free action of Onslaught will often be used to enter One for All after diving to punch an enemy particularly deep in enemy lines, or to move out of sight. A Marauder under the effects of the Jetboot Module has the most mobility of any MEC, especially if using a light MEC suit; Onslaught's bonus Ram perk can be quite powerful in this context. This Marauder excels on the maps with buildings and elevation, so make sure to pick him there. Works quite well on many urban maps, usually great choice for Exalt missions as he can deal easily with both Exalt soldiers and SHIVs. This MEC build is not a shooter and it should be focused on mobility, defense and punching.
Sample Jetboot Build: Jetboot Module -> Grit -> Repulsor -> Sprinter -> Repair Servos -> Shadowstep
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Recommended Equipment: Kinetic Strike Module, Thumper, Electropulse, Flamethrower, Any MEC Suit, Damage-increasers, Mobility-increasers, Survivability-increasers
Notes:
- A heavy MEC suit is likely the default choice for this build due to the power of punching before going into One for All, but a light MEC suit can work as well, leveraging the Marauder's insane mobility to punch high value targets before ducking into positions it can't be shot itself.
- This build is very flexible, beyond the mandatory KSM, most of the other secondary weapons work pretty well.
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