Infantry (LWR)

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  Infantry

The Infantry class borrows elements from the Assault and Heavy classes. Their signature ability is Light 'Em Up, which reduces the AP cost of standard shots to 1, allowing them to fire twice per turn.

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 cost only 1 AP and gain both +3 penetration and +0.5 damage for each instance of damage their target took this turn.
Lance Corporal	Will To Survive Will To Survive Increases DR of all cover to 60% but grants 10 less defense. For XCOM, grants Steadfast. Steadfast Steadfast Provides +2 armor HP, immunity to panic, and reduces injury times by 30%.		Sentinel Sentinel Fire an additional reaction shot and gain +20 defense during overwatch. Grants Opportunist. Opportunist Opportunist Reaction shots gain +10 aim and can critically hit.		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.
Corporal	Tenacious Defense Tenacious Defense Grants +2 armor HP. Grants +20 crit resistance when protected by cover.		Lock n' Load Lock n' Load Reloading any weapon costs only 1 AP and dashing automatically reloads the active weapon.		Mayhem Mayhem Suppression damages enemies immediately with a round of suppressive fire. Suppressive Fire can cause bleeding.
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.		Snap Shot Snapshot Shots gain +20 crit and do not trigger reaction fire.		Kitted Kitted Grants a medikit and a smoke grenade. If this unit does not have a scope, it gains a generic scope (+10 aim). If this unit does not have a plating, it gains a generic plating (+2 armor HP).
Tech Sergeant	Ranger Ranger Grants +1 damage to all weapons and equipment, +0.6 mobility, and +10% throw/rocket range. Sidearms additionally gain +2 damage, +20 aim, and 1 AP reloads.
Gunnery Sergeant	Bring 'Em On 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.		Impact Impact Shots gain +10 penetration. Non-reaction shots disable their target's Overwatch and Reactive Targeting Sensors.		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	Aggression Aggression Shots gain +10% crit damage per enemy in sight.			Packmaster Packmaster Equipped medikits, grenades, and mists receive an additional use. Grants +2 HP to healing from Restorative Mists.

Stat Progression

Rank	Attribute Gains
Specialist	+0-1 (50%)	+5-15	+1.3	+5-15
Lance Corporal	+0-1 (50%)	+1-3	-	+1-3
Corporal	+0-1 (20%)	+1-3	-	+1-3
Sergeant	+0-1 (20%)	+1-3	-	+1-3
Tech Sergeant	+0-1 (20%)	+1-3	-	+1-3
Gunnery Sergeant	+0-1 (20%)	+1-3	-	+1-3
Master Sergeant	+0-1 (20%)	-	-	-
Total	+0-7	+10-30	+1.3	+10-30

Predictable Potential:

Rank	Attribute Gains
Specialist	+1	+10	+1.3	+10
Lance Corporal	+1	+2	-	+2
Corporal	-	+2	-	+2
Sergeant	-	+2	-	+2
Tech Sergeant	-	+2	-	+2
Gunnery Sergeant	-	+2	-	+2
Master Sergeant	-	-	-	-
Total	+2	+20	+1.3	+20

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 rifles and carbines, rather than shotguns or SMGs, 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. The Infantry'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 Sentinel, and Lock n' Load, and Ranger.

Sample Builds

Tank Infantry

The Tank Infantry is a potent and straightforward hybrid build that leverages the excellent Infantry stat growths and the innate offensive power of Light 'Em Up to produce a well rounded combatant capable of dealing and tanking damage at a variety of ranges. Depending on roster needs, the build can be either taken in a more offensive or defensive direction and all available enhancements (Officer, Psi, Genemods) can be equally used to great effect to improve its capabilities.
Sample Tank Build: Will To Survive -> Tenacious Defense or Lock n' Load -> Extra Conditioning or Kitted -> Ranger -> Bring 'Em On -> Aggression

Will To Survive Will To Survive

Tenacious Defense Tenacious Defense Lock n' Load Lock n' Load

Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning Kitted Kitted

Ranger Ranger

Bring 'Em On Bring 'Em On

Aggression Aggression

Recommended Weapons: Assault rifle, Battle Rifle, Arc Rifle. Secondary Autopistol.
Recommended Equipment: Drum Mags, Special ammo, Platings, Combat Stims, Psi Defender/Conduit.

Notes

• This build is one of the most versatile builds in the game, as it covers offense, defense, and sometimes utility depending on item/perk choices.
• Tenacious Defense can be switched out for Lock n' Load for more offensive uptime. When combining a Psi Defender and a plating on a Psi Infantry, you may also find the extra crit resist redundant anyways.
• Extra Conditioning against Kitted is a toss up between extra stats + free action chance and additional sustain.
• Infantry are top-tier Conduit users as they take multiple actions per turn that can benefit from its free action chance, and the flat damage bonus never hurts.
• Arc Rifles pair well with an Autopistol to cover both biological and mechanical threats, and LeU can even make the Arc Rifle do decent damage to biologicals in a pinch. Both MSGT perks are wasted when using one, however.

Overwatch Infantry

This straightforward build focuses on using mid-range reaction shots to cover front-line tanking soldiers and lock down alien movement as the AI generally dislikes running into reaction fire. Since this build forgoes any defensive perks, other soldiers with tanking builds must be placed between this soldier and any foes. With Lock n' Load and Sentinel providing constant offensive uptime and precise reaction fire, this build is very effective against enemies in cover and will rapidly rack up damage during protracted firefights. Light 'Em Up also allows it to shoot directly at a target if needed and immediately return to Overwatching, enabling a valuable maximum of 3 shots per turn. This can be further increased with Inner Fire (Psi, +1 OW shot) or Enhanced Metabolism (Gene mod, +1 OW shot), up to a theoretical maximum of 4 shots per turn.
Sample OW Build: Sentinel -> Lock n' Load -> Any -> Ranger -> Impact or Bring 'Em On -> Aggression

Sentinel Sentinel

Lock n' Load Lock n' Load

Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning Snap Shot Snapshot Kitted Kitted

Ranger Ranger

Impact Impact Bring 'Em On Bring 'Em On

Aggression Aggression

Recommended Weapons: Assault rifle, Battle Rifle, SMG
Recommended Equipment: Drum Mags, Damage-increasers, Aim-increasers, Special ammo.

Notes

• This build will put Gene Mods to good use, especially Predictive Tracking for the added aim on reaction shots, Enhanced Metabolism for an extra Overwatch shot, and Adrenal Neurosympathy which is more likely to trigger thanks to the high number of actions per turn.
• Psi is also a strong option thanks to the Infantry's high will growth, Inner Fire, and the power of Conduit when taking multiple actions per turn.
• An SMG can be an interesting choice for an aggressive Commander that likes to move in to flank and Overwatch exposed targets to disrupt enemy positions. Be warned, however, that some enemies are liable to shoot your vulnerable soldier even while flanked.
• The choice at SGT is pretty open: Extra Conditioning is solid all around, Snapshot guarantees that Overwatching is safe and pairs nicely with Impact for situational Overwatch removal, and Kitted gives some utility and ammo.

Grenadier Infantry

The Grenadier Infantry is an efficient package that delivers both fire support and explosive damage from mid range. The high stat growths of the class allows it to perform decently on both fronts and to remain a credible offensive threat once out of grenades, which will happen quite quickly as it gains Packmaster very late into the build.
Sample Grenadier Build: Grenadier -> Mayhem -> Extra Conditioning -> Ranger -> Tandem Warheads -> Packmaster

Grenadier Grenadier

Mayhem Mayhem

Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning

Ranger Ranger

Tandem Warheads Tandem Warheads

Packmaster Packmaster

Recommended Weapons: Assault Rifle, SMG, Carbine, Arc Rifle. Secondary autopistol.
Recommended Equipment: HE grenades, AP grenades, Alien/Plasma grenades, Psi Frayer/Conduit.

Notes

• This build will enjoy Psi powers to use when out of grenades or if throwing grenades is not an option.
• High aim growth and Light 'Em Up make the Arc rifle a viable option for a large burst of damage against hard to crack mechs.

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