Long War is a comprehensive mod for the computer game XCOM: Enemy Within. Long War expands the base game’s four classes into eight. These guides are designed to introduce new Long War players to the new classes. Most of the perks are identical to their vanilla counterparts, but Long War adds a few perks and changes others. When necessary, I will explain the perks in greater detail but I will assume for the most part that the player is familiar with what perks do.

Disclaimer: I typically use the following Second Wave options in my campaigns that slightly influence how I use certain classes: Red Fog, Hidden Potential, and Aiming Angles. Red Fog decreases player and AI accuracy for every point of health (not armor) damage sustained, up to -30%; it also decreases mobility for damaged units. This is important because with Red Fog enabled, inflicting minor damage is helpful because it can effectively neuter an enemy. Also, it makes Medkits more important for the player to ensure your soldiers are fighting at full effectiveness. Hidden Potential grants randomized boosts to a soldier’s stats at level up. Keep that in mind when deciding whether a particular soldier should be given a certain perk. Aiming Angles increases player and AI accuracy the closer a unit is to flanking another. Again, keep that in mind with certain perks. If you don’t play with these Second Wave options, the following guide will still be relevant.

The Sniper – General Notes

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The Sniper receives some great perks in Long War, but function essentially the same as in vanilla. However, Snipers now have access to two main weapon types: Sniper Rifles (same as vanilla) and Marksman’s Rifles (also called Strike Rifles at Laser tech level and beyond). MRs do less damage and have shorter range than Sniper Rifles, but give the Snap Shot ability by default, allowing you to move and shoot*. I prefer MRs with my snipers, because they still get Squadsight for an additional 5 tiles outside their normal range. My Snipers are generally on roofs or at the back of my squad, and are still able to hit most enemies at range with their MRs.

*MR/Strike Rifles used to confer the Snap Shot perk automatically in LW, but this was changed in the latest version. They no longer grant the perk, but they also receive no aim penalty after moving. Sniper rifles only gain the ability to fire after moving if you select Snap Shot at Corporal; they still have a -10 aim penalty. Essentially, if you are planning to use Strike Rifles, Snap Shot has no use at all.

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The hulking alien seemed to be asleep. She had just enough time to wonder why the creature would take a snooze with its mortal enemy four metres away before the sedative kicked in. ### TEMPLE SHIP. The Temple Ship had been under XCOM's possession for almost a month and over half the ship was still unexplored. Welcome to the XCOM: Long War wiki, a part of UFOPaedia.org. Long War is a mod designed for XCOM: Enemy Unknown with the expansion XCOM: Enemy Within that introduces more than 700 changes, large and small, to the vanilla version of the game. It is longer and, with default settings, harder than the vanilla version but gives you many more tools to combat the alien threat. Enemy Within adds an incredible array of new abilities, upgrades and weapons to combat new enemy and alien threats. This expansion also introduces new maps and missions, new tactical and strategic gameplay, and new multiplayer content providing a fresh new gameplay experience. Description of XCOM: Enemy Unknown XCOM is a turn-based squad tactical strategy game fused with a real-time strategic operations simulator.

Perks

Specialist: Squadsight

One of the great things about Long War is that it finally makes both Squadsight and Shap Shot useful. In vanilla, Snap Shot was almost worthless, because although it made your Snipers better close-to-mid-range fighters, it failed to perform that role as well as any other class. Even with the nerf to Squadsight and buff to Snap Shot in Enemy Within, Squadsight was still the better perk by far. Now, all Snipers have access to Squadsight, and you may choose to combine that ability with Snap Shot if you desire. Squadsight lowers your ability to land critical hits by 30% on targets outside your normal range; enemies that are in Squadsight range will have a yellow crosshair on their icon. With Sniper Rifles/Marksman’s Rifles only, Squadsight applies to overwatch shots.

Lance Corporal: Low Profile – Gunslinger – Lone Wolf

Gunslinger was a must-have ability for Squadsight snipers in vanilla XCOM, but in Long War it is far outclassed by the other two perks. I almost exclusively use Low Profile with my snipers; although Long War boosts the effectiveness of low cover compared to vanilla XCOM, the ability to turn all cover into high cover is incredibly useful. Lone Wolf has its advantages if your sniper is going to be off on his own somewhere, but it’s hard to beat Low Profile. It does combine better with some later perk choices, however. Gunslinger is much less useful, because if you are using Strike Rifles/Marksman’s Rifles on your Scouts you will still have decent accuracy at mid-range and will have little need for a more-accurate pistol. It’s also not worth giving up Low Profile for.

Corporal: Disabling Shot – Precision Shot – Snap Shot

Disabling Shot is an incredibly useful shot late in campaigns, when tough enemies like Cyberdiscs, Mechtoids and Sectopods start appearing. DS suffers a -10% aim penalty and only does 1 damage, but it disables the target’s main weapon (note that this means the target can use secondary weapons or abilities). The weapon remains disabled until the enemy reloads, and DS has a 2 turn cooldown. DS is also useful when trying to capture enemies; since LW nerfs the Arc Thrower’s accuracy, it often takes several attempts to capture an enemy, and it is much safer when their weapon is disabled.

Snap Shot is a valid choice if you prefer long rifles over Strike rifles. Precision shot operates differently based on your weapon choice: for long rifles, it provides +30% critical chance (and removes the -30% critical chance malus for Squadsight shots) and additional damage on critical hits based on weapon tech level; for Strike rifles, it provides an unlimited range shot with no other bonuses (in other words, it’s almost completely useless). Precision Shot is a valid choice for users of long rifles, and is usually preferable to Snap Shot since Strike Rifles already grant the move-and-shoot ability. PS synergizes nicely with some later perk choices.

Sergeant: Executioner – Aggression – Damn Good Ground

Your choice at Sergeant depends on previous choices. Executioner is a good all-around option, but so is DGG. Aggression, too, combines with other possible perk selections that involve critical hit chance. Plan your build ahead of time in order to ensure you are combining your perks wisely.

Tech Sergeant: Tactical Sense – Ranger – Sharpshooter

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Again, your choice here mostly depends on previous (and future) perk selections. Tactical Sense is better for Strike Rifle scouts, and combines well with Low Profile. Since your Sniper will be closer to the enemy, Tac Sense will aid their survival. Sharpshooter, meanwhile, combines well with Executioner, Aggression, and Lone Wolf, and is better for long rifle users. Ranger is generally not as good as either.

Gunnery Sergeant: Lock-n-Load – Bring ‘Em On – Vital Point Targeting

All three perks here have their uses and ideal situations. Lock-n-Load is an excellent perk; it extends your weapon’s ammo by 1 (stacks with the Extended Capacity Mags item) AND allows you to reload your weapon for free at the beginning of a turn. Essentially, this means your sniper will almost always have the ability to fire their weapon.

BEO adds +1 damage to critical hits for every enemy within sight of the Sniper, up to a maximum of +5. Note, h

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