Officers (LWR)

Officers have a separate upgrade path for soldiers, granting abilities that benefit the entire squad.
To begin promoting officers, an Officer Training School is required, which becomes available for construction after a soldier reaches the rank of corporal. Once it is built, officer upgrades can be purchased in the OTS menu to make billets available.
Any soldier that has the rank of at least Corporal, isn't a MEC Trooper or a Psionic and has participated in at least 2 missions can be promoted to Lieutenant as long as there is an open billet left. After that, further promotions, in addition to another OTS upgrade, require that:
- The officer must have been on at least 2 missions (1 by default with the Dynamic War second wave option) at his current officer rank.
- The officer must have gained a certain minimum standard rank – for example, Sergeant or higher is required for a promotion to Captain.
- The officer with higher will stat will be commanding a mission if several officers of the same rank are on the squad.
Officer Ranks
- All officers gain the perk Commanding Officer upon their first promotion, which grants them the ability to Command.
- Officers gain additional Command charges at Major (2 charges total) and Field Commander (3 charges total).
- Each promotion presents a choice between one of two rank-specific Officer perks. This selection is permanent (and cumulative), but a different perk can be chosen for every officer.
- Only the perks of the commanding (highest-ranked) officer are beneficial to the entire squad during a battle. Officer perks of a second, lower-ranking officer present on a mission benefit only that officer.

If this is the highest ranking Officer: Gain Command (with 1 charge), 10 crit resist per officer rank, other officer perks affect all squadmates, and grants each squadmate in vision a percent chance for end-in-idle actions to cost 0 AP equal to twice the number of enemies this officer can see.
| Officer Rank | Minimum Level Requirement | Officer Ability | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lieutenant |
Corporal |
Strength in Diversity
Squad receives +1 will per different nationality in the squad. Gain Commanding Officer [1 command charge, +10% squad xp/rank, -20% personal fatigue]. |
Stay Frosty
Squad fatigue reduced by 10%. Officers gain Commanding Officer [Various Abilities, +1 Command Charge] and +1.3 mobility. | ||
Captain |
Sergeant |
Cover Tactics
Squadmates protected by cover gain +3 defense per enemy the officer can see. Officers gain +10 base aim and defense. |
Inspired Tenacity
Squad receives +20% DR when protected by cover. | ||
Major |
Tech Sergeant |
Show 'Em the Ropes
All soldiers ranked SGT or lower gain +70% mission experience. Officer gains +1 Command and +1 reaction shot on Overwatch. |
Tricks of the Trade
All soldiers in the squad gain +15% mission experience. Officer gains +1 Command and +1 use on equipped grenades. | ||
Colonel |
Gunnery Sergeant |
International Warriors
Squad receives +4 aim per continent bonus XCOM has earned. |
Battlefield Aptitude
Squad receives +10 defense when protected by cover and +10 will. | ||
Field Commander |
Master Sergeant |
Comradery
Non-SHIV squad members have a 50% chance (Modified by Campaign Length) to gain +1 aim/will when completing a mission with no soldier deaths. +1 Command Charge. |
Combined Arms
All weapons and equipment deal +1 damage. Officer's provide this to the squad. Officers gain +1.3 base mobility and +1 Command. | ||
Officer Upgrades
Each officer rank is unlocked by purchasing an upgrade in the Officer Training School. It unlocks a number of officer billets for the new rank and prior ranks. Purchasing these upgrades costs money and requires a certain number of total soldier ranks (where a Specialist counts as one, a Lance Corporal as two, and so on). When an officer is killed or dismissed, the billet will cycle back and become available again after a few missions.
| Officer upgrades | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Required Ranks | Cost | Unlocked Billets |
| Tactical officers | 20 | §100 | 3x LT |
| Company officers | 45 | §200 | 2x CAPT, 2x LT |
| Field officers | 75 | §300 | 2x MAJ, 2x CAPT, 2x LT |
| Regimental officers | 110 | §400 | 2x COL, 2x MAJ, 2x CAPT, 2x LT |
| Commanding officer | 150 | §500 | 1x CMDR, 1x COL, 1x MAJ, 1x CAPT, 1x LT |
Total number of billets unlocked: 10x Lieutenant, 7x Captain, 5x Major, 3x Colonel, 1x Field Commander.













