Infantry (LWR)

Back To Main Page

  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.		Impact Impact Shots gain +10 penetration. Non-reaction shots disable their target's Overwatch and Reactive Targeting Sensors.		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.		Snap Shot Snapshot Shots gain +20 crit and do not trigger reaction fire.		HEAT Warheads HEAT Warheads Explosives gain +40 penetration and apply 50% more shred.
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 enchancements (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 First Aid -> Ranger -> Critical System Targeting or Snapshot or Vital Point Targeting -> Aggression

Will To Survive Will To Survive

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

Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning First Aid First Aid

Ranger Ranger

Critical System Targeting Critical System Targeting Snap Shot Snapshot Vital Point Targeting Vital Point Targeting

Aggression Aggression

Recommended Weapons: Assault rifle, Battle Rifle
Recommended Equipment: Ammo increase, Shredder/AP ammo, Reinforced Plating/Regenerative Plating, Combat Stims, Psi defender(psi)/Conduit(psi), .

Notes

• Tenacious Defense can be switched out for Lock n' Load for more offensive uptime. This switch is even more justified if you plan to use Psi defender(psi).
• Extra Conditioning against First Aid is a toss up between extra stats + free action chance and additional sustain.
• The Gunnery Sergeant perks are all viable. CST/VPT for added power against Mechs/Bio and Snapshot for the extra 20% stacking chance for a free shot which can be paired with Extra conditioning and a possible Conduit(psi)

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.
Sample OW Build: Sentinel -> Lock n' Load -> Impact -> Ranger -> Critical System Targeting or Vital Point Targeting -> Aggression

Sentinel Sentinel

Lock n' Load Lock n' Load

Impact Impact

Ranger Ranger

Critical System Targeting Critical System Targeting Vital Point Targeting Vital Point Targeting

Aggression Aggression

Recommended Weapons: Assault rifle, Battle Rifle, SMG
Recommended Equipment: Drum Mags, Shredder/AP ammo/Damage boosting ammo, Scope/Neural Gunlink(psi).

Notes

• CST vs VPT is left to the Commander's discretion.
• This build will put Gene Mods to good use, especially Predictive Tracking for the added aim on reaction shots 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 high will growth
• An SMG can be an interesting choice for an aggressive Commander that likes to move in to flank and overwatch exposed target to disrupt ennemy positions.

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 on the build.
Sample Grenadier Build: Grenadier -> Mayhem -> Extra Conditioning -> Ranger -> Critical System Targeting or Snapshot or Vital Point Targeting -> Packmaster

Grenadier Grenadier

Mayhem Mayhem

Extra Conditioning Extra Conditioning

Ranger Ranger

Critical System Targeting Critical System Targeting Snap Shot Snapshot Vital Point Targeting Vital Point Targeting

Packmaster Packmaster

Recommended Weapons: SMG, Carbine, Arc Rifle with secondary autopistol.
Recommended Equipment: HE grenades, AP grenades, Alien/Plasma grenades.

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.
• The Gunnery Sergeant perk is left to the Commander's discretion. Do keep in mind that CST does not work with the Arc rifle.

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