Shinobi (LWOTC)

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Shinobi

The Shinobi serves as our primary scouting unit, using a sword to deliver stealthy close-range attacks.

Class Overview

The Shinobi is closest to the vanilla Ranger class. They are specialists in stealth and short range combat.

Shinobis provide excellent flank security and forward recon, screening out accidental, unwanted activations and ensuring the only enemies who spot you are the ones you’re ready to kill. Their stealth means they’re also capable of taking on some mission types entirely on their own, though the all-or-nothing stakes of dodging patrols or dying alone makes solo sneaking an approach not for the faint of heart.

The Shinobi tree is littered with tempting combat-focused perks that sound excitingly effective, so it’s important we understand the real strength of the class—Concealment is absurd. Other classes can compete with and surpass the damage or defensive capability of even the most combat-oriented Shinobi, but none can compare to their mastery over the art of invisibility.

Branches

"Scout" type Shinobi are pure infiltrators, skirting past even the most watchful eyes on the strategic and tactical layers of the game to ensure early warning on enemy forces before your main force encounters them, while losing out on potential squad damage each turn you choose not to break concealment.

"Saboteur" type Shinobi specialize in hit-and-run style combat, being constantly on the move while taking advantage of enemy flanks.

"Kenshi" type Shinobi assassinate the enemy with their bladecraft, pure, simply, and lethally, and can slay even the most terrifying of enemies in a single strike if an ally has disoriented or stunned them, though great care must be taken to avoid brazen charges that provoke other enemy forces or leave the shinobi exposed to fatal retaliation.

Weapons

Primary: Rifles, SMGs, Shotguns.

Secondary: Sword

Abilities

Mouse-over for more information.

Rank	Ability
Squaddie	Phantom When the squad is revealed, this soldier remains concealed.	Fleche Attack any enemy within movement range with your sword. Deals +1 damage for every 4 tiles between your starting position and the target.	Slash Attack an adjacent target with your sword. Uses one action.
	Scout	Saboteur	Kenshi
Lance Corporal	Ghostwalker Activate this ability to reduce enemy detection range against you by almost 25% for 2 turn(s).	Lone Wolf Gain bonus Aim and Defense when at least 4 tiles distant from any ally, with a maximum of +12/+12 at 7+ tiles.	Blademaster All melee attacks deal +1 extra damage and have +10 Aim.
Corporal	Shadowstep This soldier does not trigger overwatch or reaction fire.	Executioner Confers +15 aim and +15 critical chance against targets at half or less of their original hit points.	Combatives Automatically parry melee attacks that graze or miss against you, and counterattack with your melee weapon. Also gain +10 dodge.
Sergeant	Covert Enemies have 25% smaller detection range against you.	Impulse Your ranged attacks gain 10 aim and 10 critical chance if you have moved this turn.	Cutthroat Your melee attacks against biological enemies ignore their armor and have a +15 critical chance and do +2 critical damage.
Staff Sergeant	Shadowstrike While concealed, gain +50 bonus aim and +50 bonus critical hit chance when attacking enemies.	Evasive Start each mission with 100 bonus dodge. The bonus is removed after you take damage for the first time.	Bladestorm Free melee attacks on any enemies that enter, exit or attack from melee range on enemy turns.
Tech Sergeant	Hit and Run Once per turn, gain an additional action after taking a standard shot at a flanked or exposed target with your primary weapon. Cannot trigger on the same turn as Close Encounters.	Disabling Shot Stun enemies with a precise shot, with a bonus stun duration if the shot crits. The shot can not do critical damage.	Reaper A devastating chain melee attack where the first melee attack cannot miss. Each melee kill in Reaper mode grants an extra action, but further melee attacks have reduced damage.
Gunnery Sergeant	Untouchable If you score a kill during your turn, the next attack against you during the enemy turn will miss.	Hunter's Instincts Ranged attacks against flanked enemies deal +2 damage.	Whirlwind If you hit with a melee attack during your turn, gain a bonus move.
Master Sergeant	Conceal Immediately enter concealment once per mission.	Rapid Fire Fire twice in a row at an enemy. Each shot suffers an Aim penalty of -15. Can be used once per turn.	Coup de Grâce Bonus to hit, damage, and critical chance with your weapon against a disoriented, stunned or panicking enemy.

XCOM Abilities

XCOM row abilities are able to be purchased when the Training Center is built. The cost is 10/20/30 AP per tier for offensive perks, 10/15/25 AP per tier for defensive perks and 35 AP for Tier 4 perks.

Tier 1 Defensive 10 AP	Tier 1 Offensive 10 AP	Tier 2 Defensive 15 AP	Tier 2 Offensive 20 AP	Tier 3 Defensive 25 AP	Tier 3 Offensive 30 AP	Tier 4 35 AP
Tactical Sense Gain 3 defense for each enemy you can see, up to a maximum of 15 defense.	Damn Good Ground Confers +10 aim and +10 defense against targets at a lower elevation.	Instant Reaction Time Gain 2 dodge per tile from the attacker.	Marauder Standard shots are not turn-ending, allowing for shooting then moving or shooting twice on a turn.	Infighter Gain 40 dodge against attacks within four tiles.	Rupture A Rupture shot grants a +50 bonus to critical hit chances and ensures that the target takes an additional +3 damage from all attacks in the future.	Concentration Your grazing attacks are automatically upgraded to normal hits.
Paramedic Unlocks an ability to perform a dash move to use a medikit on an ally (this ability still costs 1 action and is non-turn ending). Gain a free medikit. Equipped medikits have 2 extra charges.	Target Focus Your ranged attacks gain +10 aim and pierce 1 armor against unflankable enemies.	Survival Instinct Gain 20 Defense and 20 Crit chance while injured.	Aim Assist Gain additional +15 aim and +15 crit against holotargeted units.	Formidable Your gear includes an extra layer of protection, granting 2 bonus ablative hit points and 50% less damage from explosive attacks.	Aggression Gain +5 critical chance for each enemy you can see, up to a maximum of 30.	Full Throttle Gain +2 mobility with every kill this turn. Lasts 2 turns, including the current one.
Hard Target Gain 5 dodge per enemy you can see, up to a maximum of +30.	Aim Hunker Down now confers +20 Aim and +20 Crit to the first shot on the following turn.	Tradecraft This soldier has significantly reduced infiltration times while on missions.	Priority Target You get 10 Aim and 10 Crit chance on ranged attacks against the closest visible enemy.	Combat Fitness Gain 4 aim, 1 mobility, 2 HP, 4 will, and 4 dodge.	Overkill Your ranged attacks deal +2 more damage to units at 50% HP or less.	Lightning Slash Attack any enemy within blue movement range with your weapon. This attack does not end the turn.
Preservation When your concealment is broken, gain +15 defense for 2 turns.	Maim Fire a shot with your primary weapon that immobilizes the target until the end of their next turn. Uses 1 ammo. Has a 3 turn cooldown.	Inspire Agility Give a friendly unit 30 Dodge until the start of your next turn. Whenever you kill an enemy, you gain an extra charge. Usable once per turn. Starts with one charge, and is a free action.	Lead The Target Grants a +20% increased chance to hit, but delays the shot until the target takes an action on their turn. Costs two actions and has a 3 turn cooldown.	Resilience Enemy attacks against you suffer a -30 penalty to critical hit chances.	Predator Your ranged attacks gain 15 bonus aim and 15 bonus critical chance against enemies that are flanked or out of cover.	Run and Gun Take an action after dashing.
Zone of Control All enemies within the soldier's 5 tile radius suffer penalties of -15 Aim and -4 Mobility.	Bring 'Em On Gain +1 damage on critical hits for every two enemies you can see, up to a maximum of +8. Works for the soldier's primary weapon and explosives.	Fortify Activate to grant +20 defense until the beginning of the next turn. Does not cost an action. Has a 3 turn cooldown.	Iron Curtain Special shot that does 50% of normal damage but reduces target mobility for the following 2 turn(s). Cone-based attack with primary weapon.	Sensor Overlays All squad members get 10 Crit chance against enemies you can see.	Lock 'N Load Kills with your primary weapon restore 1 ammo.	Stiletto Shots fired with your primary weapon pierce 3 armor.
					Lightning Reflexes Reaction fire shots against you have a significantly decreased chance to hit. The bonus goes down with each additional reaction shot you face.	Close Encounters Once per turn, gain a bonus action after taking a standard shot with your primary weapon at an enemy within four tiles. Cannot trigger on the same turn as Hit and Run.
						Double Tap Activate to fire a standard shot and gain a second action restricted to an additional shot or overwatching.

Stat Progression

Rank
Per Level	Health	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
	Aim	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
	Will	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Dodge	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1
	Hacking	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Total	Health	0	0	1	1	1	1	2	2
	Aim	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16
	Will	4	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
	Dodge	2	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	Hacking	5	10	15	20	25	30	35	40

See Also

XCOM Units in Long War of the Chosen
Starting	Overview Assault Grenadier Gunner Ranger Sharpshooter Shinobi Specialist Technical
Unlockable	Psi Operative SPARK Officers
Faction	Reaper Skirmisher Templar