Infantry (Long War)

   Infantry

The Infantry class borrows elements from vanilla XCOM's Assault and Heavy classes. Their signature ability is Light 'Em Up, which behaves identically to the vanilla Heavy's Bullet Swarm perk.

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

Secondary Weapon: Pistols, Machine pistols, Sawed-off shotgun.

Class-Limited items: None.

Abilities

Rank	Ability
Specialist	Light 'Em Up Light 'Em Up Standard shots no longer end the turn, if taken as the first action.
	No other bonuses.
Lance Corporal	Steadfast Steadfast Never panic as a result of getting wounded, allies panicking, allies getting wounded or killed, or the intimidation ability.	Covering Fire Covering Fire Allows certain reaction shots to trigger on many enemy actions, not just movement (excludes reload, overwatch, and hunker down actions).	Executioner Executioner Confers +10 aim and +10 critical chance against targets at or below 50% health.
	+5 Will.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.
Corporal	Will to Survive Will to Survive Gain 1.5 Damage Reduction (DR) if in cover and not flanked.	Opportunist Opportunist Eliminates the Aim penalty on reaction shots, and allows reaction shots to cause critical hits.	Aggression Aggression Confers +10% critical chance per enemy in sight (max +30%). Aliens visible via squadsight are not counted for bonus.
	+3 Will.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.
Sergeant	Deadeye Deadeye Confers +15 aim against flying targets.	Suppression Suppression Fire a barrage that pins down a target, granting Opportunist reaction fire against it if it moves. Imposes a -30 penalty to aim and reduces range of many area-of-effect attacks, including grenades. Also negates overwatch from the target while suppression is active. Lastly, enemy AI prioritizes breaking the suppression by shooting the suppressor, so it functions as a mini-taunt. Not possible with shotguns, sniper rifles, or strike rifles.	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.
	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses
Tech Sergeant	Tactical Sense Tactical Sense Confers +5 Defense per enemy in sight (max +20).	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.	Sharpshooter Sharpshooter +10 critical chance in all situations, +10 Aim against enemies in full cover.
	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.	+2 Aim.
Gunnery Sergeant	Resilience Resilience Confers immunity to critical hits.	Sentinel Sentinel Allows two reaction shots during Overwatch, instead of only one.	Bring 'Em On Bring 'Em On Confers 1-4 bonus damage during critical hits (which is then multiplied by 50% due to the critical hit). The damage is higher when more enemies are in view (including squad sight vision). This results in +1.5 dmg for 1-2 enemies, +3 dmg for 3-4 enemies, +4.5 dmg for 5-6 enemies, +6 dmg for 7 or more enemies.
	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.
Master Sergeant	Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning Confers 1-4 bonus health based on which type of armor is equipped. Heavier armor increases the bonus.	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.	Rapid Fire Rapid Fire Take two shots against a single target in quick succession. Each shot carries a -15 penalty to Aim.
	+4 Aim, +4 Will, +1 Mobility.	No other bonuses.	No other bonuses.

*Perks tagged with blue are fixed even with Second Wave Training Roulette option is enabled

Stat Progression

Rank	/ Level			Total
			*			*
Specialist	1	3	5(-6)	1	3	5(-6)
Lance Corporal	0	3	5(-6)	1	6	10(-12)
Corporal	0	3	3(-4)	1	9	13(-16)
Sergeant	1	3	3(-4)	2	12	16(-20)
Tech Sergeant	0	3	3(-4)	2	15	19(-24)
Gunnery Sergeant	0	3	3(-4)	2	18	22(-28)
Master Sergeant	1	3	3(-4)	3	21	25(-32)

• Note that, even without Hidden Potential turned on, there is a chance of gaining 1 extra will per level (shown in parentheses above). Psionic soldiers can also gain 1-6 extra will per psi level (1 + rand(6)).

Tactical Advice

Role: Medium Range Offense

Infantry are mid-range damage dealers. They can fire twice per turn if they don't move, which makes them excel at eliminating enemies by attrition. Because they must remain stationary to fire twice, they tend to perform best with assault rifles rather than shotguns, which are more position dependent - if you want a more mobile soldier who's designed for mobility and getting flanks, look to the Assault class. Infantrymen's ability to fire twice per turn makes them competitive with Snipers at direct damage. Due to their high fire-rate it is very important to keep an eye on the Infantry's ammunition, as it can run out very quickly.

Infantry have decent aim progression and have relatively uncomplicated builds - they have at least one talent at each rank that improves their proficiency with their primary weapon and also have a selection of defensive abilities available at each rank. The Infantry does have a powerful utility perk combination to improve overwatch in Covering Fire, Opportunist and Sentinel.

Sample Builds

Crit Infantry

Perk progression
-	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Sergeant	Tech Sergeant	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Perk by tier	Executioner Executioner	Aggression Aggression	Ranger Ranger	Sharpshooter Sharpshooter	Bring 'Em On Bring 'Em On	Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning
Build Overview
Stat Boosts	+6 aim, +4 will, +1 mobility
Strengths	massive dmg output
Weaknesses	squishy until Extra Conditioning, relies heavily on allied support
Preferred battle sites	All
Most common Loadout	Scope/Neural Gunlink, Hi Cap Mags, Targeting Module, +1 Damage item
Power Ranks	SGT and GSG for dmg, MSG for survivability
Description	This build is a very straightforward mid-range damage dealer. Crit stacking guarantees crits on exposed enemies and gives you a coin flip to land them on Hardened or in cover enemies too. Executioner makes Infantry a very reliable cleanup option in the early game against weakened foes with its +10 aim bonus, especially since LEU gives them two shots for that +10 aim bonus to go to work on; it's less useful for its crit chance, though it can help against tough enemies with good HP and DR. Agg and BEO is core and forms the bulk of your damage output. SS can be dropped for LnL if you prefer having more shots over more consistent crits, though Ranger will mitigate some of the ammo issues you run into if you invest in a good sidearm in addition to its reliable +1 damage. Extra Con can be dropped for VPT if you prefer raw damage over survivability and consistency. Rapid Fire can also be taken for maximum potential damage output, but will burn through your ammo at alarming rates if you don’t have Lock N’ Load to feed the gun.
Strategic Analysis	Like with all infantry, find a good spot to sit in pre-engagement so you can fire 2 shots a turn with LEU. Crit Infantry greatly appreciate holo targeting, shredder rockets, and cover destruction support from rocketeers, engineers, and Collateral Damage MECs. If possible, try to bring a target down to half hp before shooting to activate Executioner (conveniently this often happens for free while destroying cover, especially in early game). When you get swarmed by several aliens at once, aim for the big guy and let Bring ‘Em On do the rest. One massive crit on a dangerous threat can swing battle tempo in your favor, nevermind two. Just don't put yourself in a situation where you have to rely on crits landing against Hardened or in Cover enemies. Make your attempts relatively early in the turn: if one or both crit, great. If it doesn't, use the rest of your squads actions to mitigate the threat, like deploying Smoke, Suppressing the target, and so on.

Overwatch Fire Support

Perk progression
-	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Sergeant	Tech Sergeant	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Perk by tier	Covering Fire Covering Fire	Opportunist Opportunist	Deadeye Deadeye	Lock N' Load Lock N' Load	Sentinel Sentinel	Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning
Build Overview
Stat Boosts	+4 aim, +4 will, +1 mobility
Strengths	good damage output, overwatch utility/dmg
Weaknesses	vulnerable until Extra Conditioning, somewhat inconsistent due to the nature of overwatch
Preferred battle sites	All
Most common Loadout	Aim/crit item(s), Hi Cap Mags
Power Ranks	CPL and GSG for overwatching, TSG for consistent ammo availability
Description	This build sacrifices some damage potential in exchange for Overwatch utility. Overwatch will lockdown some enemies and kill others who dare to run or act before it. Overwatch shots also have favorable interactions with some enemy mechanics, such as not activating intimidate from Berserkers or the shot reflection of Ethereals. Opportunist and Sentinel are core on Overwatch builds. Covering Fire is important to prevent the soldier from being too passive, as many enemies will avoid moving if they see an Overwatching soldier, but it can also bait your soldier into taking poor or unhelpful shots. Extra Con can be dropped for VPT if you prefer raw damage over survivability and consistency. Deadeye helps prevent Flyers from wasting your Overwatch shots, as Flying targets gain a cover bonus as if they were in Low Cover. It can be dropped for Ranger if you prefer more damage overall.
Strategic Analysis	As with all Infantry, find a good spot to sit in pre-battle so you can take 2 actions per turn with LEU. Shoot or reload with your first action and then Overwatch/Sentinel with your second for up to 3 attacks per turn. Overwatch builds combo exceptionally well with Flush support, especially in conjunction with holo targeting, for good shots that will often crit due to the exposed bonus (+50% crit chance). Be wary of enemies that don’t care about Overwatch (such as drones) that might distract your infantry from more pressing threats. Also beware of any enemy that might have Lightning Reflexes such as Thin Men and Chrysalid's. In the long run consider converting Overwatch infantry into Valkyrie MECs.

Tank Infantry

Perk progression
-	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Sergeant	Tech Sergeant	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Perk by tier	Steadfast Steadfast	Will to Survive Will to Survive	Suppression Suppression	Lock N' Load Lock N' Load	Resilience Resilience	Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning
Build Overview
Stat Boosts	+4 aim, +12 will, +1 mobility
Strengths	very durable, good and consistent utility
Weaknesses	low dmg output, needs indestructible cover to draw aggro from
Preferred battle sites	Narrow maps where the risk of being outflanked: roadways and base assaults
Most common Loadout	Reinforced Armor, Alloy Plating, and/or Chitin Plating
Power Ranks	CPL and MSG for tanking, SGT and TSG for utility
Description	Straightforward utility tank build that aims to draw aggro from aliens by suppressing and then survive the potential consequences. The core perk is Suppression; in addition to its usual role in locking down a specific target, it also innately encourages attacks from both the target of the suppression as well as other aliens, who will attempt to break the Suppression and free up their comrade by attacking the user if they don't have a good kill or flank shot they can make. Suppression-based tanks are sometimes known as "Taunt" tanks as a result. Lock N'Load boosts the reliability of this Suppression by allowing you to maintain it every turn, even on the relatively low ammo capacity of an assault rifle. The bulk of the rest of their perk selections is devoted to improving their durability, in the hopefully unlikely event that they do take damage. Steadfast prevents them from panicking on hit, Will to Survive boosts their DR, Resilience negates crits, and Extra Conditioning gives a massive survivability boost.
Strategic Analysis	Tank Infantry are the soldiers you want on the front-line. They should take an indestructible full cover position closest to the alien positions (but still at mid-range). It is more important that the cover be indestructible than low/high, as this soldier is vulnerable to cover destruction. Each turn, the soldier should shoot (or reload with LnL), and then suppress with their second action. They are not expected to do major damage to the enemy: the shot is free and any hit is a bonus. For officers, Command is also a good choice for your second but you lose the taunting effect of Suppression if you do. Note that bringing a Tank Infantry does not mean you can neglect protective choices on the rest of the squad. The AIs targeting priority is roughly as follows: #1 potential one shot kills (including but not limited to flanks), #2 flank shots (even if unlikely to kill), #3 groups they can grenade/acid spit, #4 foes using suppression, and #5 the highest accuracy shot they have. You must shore up #1, #2 and #3 with good positioning and play on your entire squad, leaving the Infantry as the main target for #4. Leaving aside Mechs and SHIVs, only Assaults can compete as main "tanks" or fire magnets: Assaults can get many of the same protective perks as Infantry, get slightly more Health per rank, and can stack defensive items without as much offensive penalty but don't have access to suppression for taunting, and thus must make a deliberate attempt to make their Defense the lowest of the entire squad in order to tank with #5 instead of #4 (e.g. sit in Low Cover, use Reinforced Armor, build on a low base defense unit). You can do the same thing with Tank Infantry, of course, as a backup plan in case you can't Suppress this turn (and you need to pre Suppression), but it also means you get hit more often during Suppression, which is consequentially less reliable as a lockdown tool. Tank Infantry make solid officers: they get +8 Will from their first two perks and would be good choices for the first Lieutenants you promote. Their battlefield role puts them front and center in the squad: those who need the Will bonus (and other officer benefits) most are likely to be close to the Tank Infantry.

See also

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