Goliath (LWR)

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  Goliath

MEC variant of the Gunner and Rocketeer classes. A Goliath is designed to be a human tank. They have an unsurpassed selection of defensive perks. Their selection of offensive perks is a bit lacking.

Primary Weapon: MEC Primary Weapons

Secondary Weapon: MEC Secondary Weapon Systems

Class-Limited items: MEC Equipment items

Attribute Growth: HP x3.

Abilities

Rank	Ability
Specialist	Absorption Fields Absorption Fields Gain 5% DR. Shots from beam weapons (laser/pulse/drone/cyberdisc) lose half of their penetration when targeting this unit.
Lance Corporal	Grenadier Grenadier Using a destructive grenade deals +1 damage and costs only 1 AP. Equipped destructive grenades and MEC launchers receive an additional use and have no weight.		Sentry Sentry Reaction shots deal +50% base weapon damage. Grants +10% DR against the first damage taken each turn.		Double Tap Double Tap Shooting allows this unit to fire an extra shot if not out of ammo or targets. The extra shot gains +20 aim/crit if it's the same target. 1 turn cooldown after 2nd shot is used.
Corporal	Regen Biofield Grit Grants +4 armor HP and %DR equal to a quarter of the % total HP lost.		Fortified Fortified Grants immunity to critical hits. Injury and fatigue times are reduced by 15%.		Critical System Targeting Critical System Targeting Shots against autopsied mechanical units deal +20% damage and gain +20 penetration (+50% damage and +50 penetration if steadied). Does not work with Arc Weapons.
Sergeant	Blast Blast Grants +20% radius and +1 damage to explosives. Does not affect Gravity Mines.		Lock n' Load Lock n' Load Reloading any weapon costs only 1 AP and dashing automatically reloads the active weapon.		Reactive Targeting Sensors Reactive Targeting Sensors Once per turn, if this unit is not suppressed and is shot: Attempt to return fire with a +20 aim reaction shot. If this unit did return fire, enter One For All (if able). [Basic reaction shots bypass half of cover DR/def, cannot crit, and require hit chance >30]
Tech Sergeant	Dampening Shield Dampening Shield Grants proximity-based DR from shots against this unit over 10 tiles away (+3% DR per tile further than 10).
Gunnery Sergeant	Repair Servos 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.		Holo Rounds Holo Rounds Firing at a target holos them for 3 turns [Prevents stealth, incoming shots gain +10 aim and +10 penetration].		Tandem Warheads Tandem Warheads Explosives employed by this soldier do full damage at the extent of their area of effect (instead of 50%).
Master Sergeant	Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning Grants +2 armor HP and +0.6 mobility, and a 10% chance for all end-in-idle actions to cost 0 AP.			Fragmentation Fragmentation Explosives critically hit exposed targets, have double the bleed chance, and apply 2 stacks if they cause bleeding.

Tactical Advice

With the highest HP progression and plethora of defensive perks, the Goliath acts as a front-line bullet sponge for the rest of the team. With the Absorption Fields perk as the first perk to be available, the Goliath is able to heavily reduce any damage that it receives, giving it much more leeway to utilize whatever offense it specialized into. At TSGT he gets Dampening Shield which makes goliath more resistant to range shots, something that alien Outsiders are known for in LWR. You may want to keep some distance between him and aliens for maximum tanking benefits. There are couple of ways for aliens to kill Goliath, the main one being Critical System Targeting hits. Certain alien leaders possess this perk so treat them with respect. Critical hits can hurt Goliath so either pick Fortified or be in OFA. Critical hit + Critical System Targeting is the way you can actually lose Goliath.

Goliath's most natural build is perhaps Grenadier, since he can tank in OFA while doing lots of damage. Goliath grenades are most damaging when he gets all the perks.

He can also choose to go Sentry route, greatly improving both his offensive and defensive options. Sentry shots do not have extra aim or critical, but they deal massive damage, so it is perhaps best paired with Reactive Targeting Sensors which gives +40 aim. Reactive Targeting Sensors will interrupt overwatch, which is somewhat anti-synergystic, but Goliath usually does not have enough ammo or can't hit all overwatch shots anyway. Lock 'n Load is alternative to rely more on overwatch.

Another option for Goliath is Double tap -> Critical System Targeting build, excellent especially in first parts of the game. This Goliath can handle Cyberdisks and Mechtoids quite well when XCOM is limited with options. He does not want to be in OFA and has to reload so this is the least tanky build.

Sample Builds

All Goliath builds are inherently quite tanky due to Absorption Fields and Kinetic Dampening, but they all focus on different skills and have different levels of bulk.

Grenadier Goliath

The Grenadier Goliath acts like a literal tank; it shoots explosives at enemies while being very hard to kill. It wants to set up somewhere close to the action with One for All and then lob grenades turn after turn as needed. Even when out of grenades, this build can hold ground effectively due to how tanky it is. It does more grenade damage then Shogun MEC, but has limited range.

Sample Grenadier Build: Grenadier -> Grit -> Danger Zone -> Kinetic Dampening -> Repair Servos or Tandem Warheads -> Fragmentation

Grenadier Grenadier

Regen Biofield Grit

Blast Blast

Kinetic Dampening Kinetic Dampening

Repair Servos Repair Servos Tandem Warheads Tandem Warheads

Fragmentation Fragmentation

Recommended Equipment: Grenade Launcher, Gravity Mine, Heavy MEC Suit, Survivability-increasers

Notes:

• Because you'll be in One for All most of the time, a Heavy MEC Suit will perform best.
• Grenadier only affects Grenade Launchers and Gravity Mines, so those are the equipment of choice.
• At GSGT, Tandem Warheads is the default choice that makes your explosives better, but Repair Servos can be chosen instead to leverage the Goliath's tankiness more.

Sentry Goliath

The Sentry Goliath acts as a tank and damage hybrid, leveraging the combination of Sentry and Reactive Targeting Sensors to safely enter One for All while taking shots in the process. The build wants to control space with overwatch and go in somewhat close to aliens to force their attention and utilize Reactive Targeting Sensors. Sentry overwatch shots do not have aim and crit bonuses, ammo being the issue as well, so this Goliath relies on big gun and Reactive Targeting Sensors accuracy to deal consistent damage. Getting in close also leads to potential flanking opportunities and using weapons like Flamethrower or Grenade Launcher as well.

Sample Sentry Build: Sentry -> Grit -> Reactive Targeting Sensors -> Kinetic Dampening -> Repair Servos -> Extra Conditioning

Sentry Sentry

Regen Biofield Grit

Reactive Targeting Sensors Reactive Targeting Sensors

Kinetic Dampening Kinetic Dampening

Repair Servos Repair Servos

Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning

Recommended Equipment: Restorative Mist, Kinetic Strike Module, Heavy MEC Suit, Survivability-increasers, Ammo-increasers, Damage-increasers

Notes:

• Due to actively drawing fire to utilize Sentry and Reactive Targeting Sensors, a Heavy MEC Suit is highly recommended.
• Restorative Mist is solid on any tank MEC, and Sentry Goliaths are no exception.
• Kinetic Strike Module gives you a solid method of doing damage when out of ammo or when conserving ammo is important.

Double Tap Goliath

The Double Tap Goliath is about as simple as a MEC can get: it shoots things for high damage, and can take some hits in return. Its damage can rival the likes of a Rapid Fire Jaeger when up against mechanical enemies, but big guns are going to hurt regardless of target type. This build notably suffers from mediocre aim, so close range and flanks are recommended. GSGT rank brings interesting choice of Repair Servos vs Holo Rounds, both having advantages in different situations. Killing faster with Holo Rounds reduces the need for Repair Servos, but if the Goliath comes under fire, commander will be happy to have picked up the defensive option.

Sample Shooter Build: Double Tap -> Grit or Critical System Targeting -> Lock N' Load -> Kinetic Dampening -> Repair Servos or Holo Rounds -> Extra Conditioning

Double Tap Double Tap

Regen Biofield Grit Critical System Targeting Critical System Targeting

Lock n' Load Lock n' Load

Kinetic Dampening Kinetic Dampening

Repair Servos Repair Servos Holo Rounds Holo Rounds

Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning

Recommended Equipment: Heavy MEC Suit, Aim-increasers, Damage-increasers, Survivability-increasers

Notes:

• A Heavy MEC Suit will benefit this build significant, as the Goliath's default bulk from Absorption Fields and Kinetic Dampening pair nicely with the high survivability of a Heavy MEC suit.
  • A Light MEC Suit can be used if mobility is a concern, however.
• All MEC equipment works fairly well for this build:
  • Grenade Launchers, Gravity Mines, Flamethrowers, and Electropulse all give you effective options to use for AoE damage or when hit chances are low, and bring some utility to boot.
  • Restorative Mist is nice for any MEC that is going to be drawing fire, and because of the Goliath's aim, they will often have to be close to their enemies.
  • Kinetic Strike Module is an effective option to use against any high DR targets or on Double Tap's cooldown turn.
• This build can choose to specialize more in bulk or damage:
  • At CPL, Critical System Targeting is incredible against most mechanical enemies, but Grit offers more durability in combat
  • At GSGT, Repair Servos significantly improves your longevity when it comes to tanking hits, but sacrifices potential damage and team utility

See also

Long War Rebalance: Soldiers
Soldiers	Soldiers Assault Infantry Rocketeer Gunner Sniper Scout Medic Engineer
MEC	MEC Troopers Marauder Goliath Jaeger Shogun
Sub-classes and abilities	Officers Psionics Gene Mods S.H.I.V.s