Class Builds (EU2012)

Each class has been designed with two main ability builds, Alpha (left side) and Beta (right side). Each build is a combination of abilities designed to fulfill a specific tactical role. Although experienced players will design soldiers according to their own preferences, this article will focus on the basic builds available to each class, and how the different abilities on each one can synergize together.

Assault

Assault Alpha (Scout)

Rank	Ability	Scout
Squaddie	Run & Gun Allows firing or Overwatch after Dashing on the turn Run & Gun is activated. 2 turn cooldown.
Corporal	Tactical Sense Confers +5 Defense per enemy in sight (max +20).
Sergeant	Lightning Reflexes Forces the first reaction shot against this unit each turn to miss.
Lieutenant	Flush Fire a shot that causes enemies to run out of cover. The shot is easy to hit with, but does reduced damage.
Captain	Close Combat Specialist Confers a reaction shot against any enemy who closes to within 4 tiles. Does not require Overwatch.
Major	Extra Conditioning Confers bonus health based on which type of armor is equipped. Heavier armor increases the bonus.
Colonel	Resilience Confers immunity to critical hits.

The Scout build is designed for evasion and survival. The two first abilities, Tactical Sense and Lightning Reflexes greatly increase the soldier's defense while Resillience allows him/her to soak hits.
Run & Gun give it the ability to easily finish off already wounded hostiles and set Overwatch over outflank enemies.
Lightning Reflexes can be used to prevent an enemy on Overwatch from hitting anyone, by moving the Assault Scout first before the other units.

Assault Beta (Assault)

Rank	Ability	Assault
Squaddie	Run & Gun Allows firing or Overwatch after Dashing on the turn Run & Gun is activated. 2 turn cooldown.
Corporal	Aggression Confers +10% critical chance per enemy in sight (max +30%).
Sergeant	Close & Personal Confers +30% critical chance against adjacent targets. The bonus declines with distance from the target.
Lieutenant	Rapid Fire Take two shots against a single target in quick succession. Each shot carries a -15 penalty to Aim.
Captain	Bring 'Em On Adds 1 damage on critical hits for each enemy the squad can see (up to 5).
Major	Extra Conditioning Confers bonus health based on which type of armor is equipped. Heavier armor increases the bonus.
Colonel	Killer Instinct Activating Run & Gun now also grants +50% critical damage for the rest of the turn.

XCOM's equivalent of the Berserker. The Assault is able of killing nearly any alien unit that comes within close range.
Aggression, Close & Personal plus the Shotgun's own critical chance bonus turn most shots into critical hits. Rapid Fire gives it two shots and Bring 'Em On and Killer Instinct add even more critical damage to each one.

Heavy

Heavy Alpha (Heavy)

Rank	Ability	Heavy
Squaddie	Fire Rocket Fire a rocket using an equipped launcher. This ability can not be used after moving, nor more than once per mission.
Corporal	Bullet Swarm Firing the primary weapon as the first action no longer ends the turn.
Sergeant	Shredder Rocket Fire a rocket that causes all enemies hit to take +33% damage from all sources for the next 4 turns. The rocket's blast is weaker than a standard rocket's.
Lieutenant	HEAT Ammo +100% to damage against robotic enemies.
Captain	Grenadier Allows to carry 2 grenades in a single inventory slot.
Major	Will to Survive Reduces all normal damage taken by 2 if in cover and not flanked.
Colonel	Rocketeer Allows 1 additional standard rocket to be fired per battle.

Heavy Beta (Tagger)

Rank	Ability	Tagger
Squaddie	Fire Rocket Fire a rocket using an equipped launcher. This ability can not be used after moving, nor more than once per mission.
Corporal	Holo-Targeting Shooting at or suppressing enemies also confers a +10 Aim to any allies' attacks on those enemies.
Sergeant	Suppression Can fire a special shot that grants reaction fire at a single target. The target also suffers a -30 Aim penalty.
Lieutenant	Rapid Reaction Confers a second reaction shot, if on Overwatch and the first reaction shot is a hit.
Captain	Danger Zone Increases hit area of rockets and suppression by 2 tiles.
Major	Will to Survive Reduces all normal damage taken by 2 if in cover and not flanked.
Colonel	Mayhem Confers additional damage based on weapon tech level to Suppression and all area-effect abilities.

Sniper

Sniper Alpha (Gunslinger)

Rank	Ability	Gunslinger
Squaddie	Headshot Fire a shot with +30% critical chance and extra damage on critical hits based on the tech level of the sniper rifle. 2 turn cooldown.
Corporal	Snap Shot Removes the sniper rifle's restriction on firing and Overwatch after moving. Any shots taken suffer a -20 Aim penalty.
Sergeant	Gunslinger Confers 2 bonus damage with pistols.
Lieutenant	Disabling Shot Allows the Sniper to fire a shot that causes the target's main weapon to malfunction. The target may use Reload to fix the weapon. The shot cannot inflict a critical hit. 2 turn cooldown. -10 Aim penalty
Captain	Executioner +10% Aim against targets with less than 50% Health.
Major	Low Profile Makes partial cover count as full.
Colonel	In The Zone Killing a flanked or uncovered target with the sniper rifle does not cost an action.

Sniper Beta (Sniper)

Rank	Ability	Sniper
Squaddie	Headshot Fire a shot with +30% critical chance and extra damage on critical hits based on the tech level of the sniper rifle. 2 turn cooldown.
Corporal	Squad Sight Allows firing at targets in any ally's sight radius.
Sergeant	Damn Good Ground +10 Aim and +10 Defense against enemies at lower elevation in addition to the usual elevation bonuses.
Lieutenant	Battle Scanner Scanning device, when thrown creates a new source of vision for 2 turns. Can only be used 2 times per battle.
Captain	Opportunist Eliminates the Aim penalty on reaction shots, and allows reaction shots to cause critical hits.
Major	Low Profile Makes partial cover count as full.
Colonel	Double Tap Allows both actions to be used for Standard Shot, Headshot, or Disable Shot, provided no moves were made. 1 turn cooldown.

Support

Support Alpha (Medic)

Rank	Ability	Medic
Squaddie	Smoke Grenade Deploy a smoke grenade once per mission. The smoke confers +20 defense to all units, not just allies, and lasts during the enemy turn.
Corporal	Sprinter Allows the support to move 3 additional tiles.
Sergeant	Field Medic Allows medikits to be used 3 times per battle instead of once.
Lieutenant	Revive Allows Medikits to revive critically wounded Soldiers at 33% of maximum health instead of just stabilizing them.
Captain	Dense Smoke Smoke Grenades have increased area of effect and further increase units' Defense by 20.
Major	Deep Pockets Confers an additional item slot in inventory.
Colonel	Savior Medikits restore 4 more health per use.

Support Beta (Support)

Rank	Ability	Support
Squaddie	Smoke Grenade Deploy a smoke grenade once per mission. The smoke confers +20 defense to all units, not just allies, and lasts during the enemy turn.
Corporal	Covering Fire Allows reaction shot to trigger on enemy attacks, not just movement.
Sergeant	Smoke and Mirrors Allows 1 additional use of Smoke Grenade each mission.
Lieutenant	Rifle Suppression Fires a barrage that pins down a target, granting reaction fire against it and imposing a 30 penalty to aim.
Captain	Combat Drugs Smoke Grenades now contain powerful stimulants that grant +20 Will and +10% Critical Chance for all units in the cloud. (Also grants +20 Aim Bonus)
Major	Deep Pockets Confers an additional item slot in inventory.
Colonel	Sentinel Allows two reaction shots during Overwatch, instead of only one.