Hit and run vs close encounters vs rapid fire. Need opinions

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Jj001
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2017 5:19 pm

Hit and run vs close encounters vs rapid fire. Need opinions

Post by Jj001 »

Hi guys I have a question regarding hit and run versus Close Encounters versus rapid fire. It seems to me close encounters is the best choice for the assault class however I think that rapid fire could be great too. I tend have one of two types of assaults. Type 1 is the stun Gunner assault. Type 2 is the lightning reflexes with high crit assault and the occasional trench gun. I was wondering of the three talents which did people pic? I always seem to just pick Close Encounters and perhaps there's something I'm missing that you guys could explain to me. Maybe Rapidfire or hit-and-run is better and I'm just not seeing it
Icarus
Posts: 151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2017 12:26 pm

Re: Hit and run vs close encounters vs rapid fire. Need opinions

Post by Icarus »

Rapid Fire can be used with Run and Gun, the others can't. If you want your dude to move twice to your target and still be able to hit him twice, then you need Rapid Fire. In all other circumstances the other two seem superior to me.
Antifringe
Posts: 226
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 9:52 pm

Re: Hit and run vs close encounters vs rapid fire. Need opinions

Post by Antifringe »

Rapid Fire: This is about doubling down on your existing strengths. IT lets you play a standard Run and Gun Assault, but with more firepower. A Rapid Fire Assault will still be able to delete specific aliens, even when ADVENT health climbs out of one-shot territory.

Close Encounters: A transformative, rather than a reinforcing, perk. Turns you into a medium range skirmisher that can pop out of cover, shoot something, and get back to safety. It can also be used to double tap a particularly strong enemy, but you can't combo it with R&G and you can't retreat back to safety.

Hit and Run: A lateral perk intended for the odd rifle-using Assault. Lets you do medium range flanking games, kind of like the H&R Scout from LW1. Which were pretty good, as it turns out.
Jj001
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2017 5:19 pm

Re: Hit and run vs close encounters vs rapid fire. Need opinions

Post by Jj001 »

Thank you for the input. I almost always take Close Encounters but I will start taking a look at hit-and-run because of your post. Is there anyone else that might take rapid fire and hit and run over Close Encounters?
Skyro
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Jul 17, 2017 4:13 pm

Re: Hit and run vs close encounters vs rapid fire. Need opinions

Post by Skyro »

I use RF for crit-stacked trench/street sweeper assaults to give them some single target firepower. The ability to us RF after RnG is important as I pick up the +crit damage ability while RnG is active.

I use CE for my tanky assaults to combo with CCS. These guys are strong all game. I strong build to train pistol perks with to boost their firepower late game.

HnR I use with high aim, rifle stun speced assaults. I find these guys are well-rounded for small squad GOps. They can stay at range early in the mission to avoid pulling multiple pods and then pop RnG to aggressively flank the last remaining pod. Mopping up enemies with RnG and then stunning another pretty really efficient. They really shine late game though when you need hard disables vs. tanky M3s.
Dwarfling
Posts: 524
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2017 12:16 pm

Re: Hit and run vs close encounters vs rapid fire. Need opinions

Post by Dwarfling »

Well I prefer Close Encounters but generally you end up with with multiple Assaults, so you can mix it up. Rapid Fire's strenght over CE is that you can use it with RnG, you can double down on targets 5+ tiles away and it's better vs Codex (not really a problem with sufficient tech) and Avatars (you fight them twice). You lose however on situations where you're shooting at high defense targets when you're not immediatly next to them (Sergeants, Archons, Gatekeepers, Muton Elites), and you also lose the flexibility of having the extra action to do whatever, like run away, shoot a different target, stun, etc.
LordYanaek
Posts: 940
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2017 1:34 pm

Re: Hit and run vs close encounters vs rapid fire. Need opinions

Post by LordYanaek »

Much like Skyro i use all 3 options depending on the build. I use mostly 3 different assault builds, i have tried some slight variations but those i tend to prefer are :
  • Burst damage build Electroshock/Lightning Reflexes│Trench Gun│Killer Instinct│Extra Conditioning│Rapid Fire│Untouchable│Street Sweeper
    That build is a cooldown based AoE killer that can take on entire pods by himself early on and can still do significant damage later but they depend on RnG cooldown so they work best on missions where you need to eliminate a pod quickly but can then expect to have a few turns without fighting. I found that they work great on GOps (especially Jailbreaks and VIP rescue). Rapid Fire gives them an option to kill some really big targets (a double Killer Instinct crit can insta-kill almost any enemy) at a time they start to loose their ability to wipe out pods with Trench gun.
    Ideally i build them from soldiers with average mobility (RnG is usually enough) and above average Aim (i can't rely on point blank range on a cone attack) so RF -15 aim isn't a huge obstacle on what's still short range attacks.
  • In your face build Lightning Reflexes│Close and Personal│Stun Gunner/Fortify│Aggression/Formidable│Close Encounters│Close Combat Specialist│Lethal
    That build is a constant DPS that doesn't vary from turn to turn. The idea is to have 100%hit/100% crit at point blank. It's usual for such a soldier to take 2 enemies/turn every turn once they get Close Encouters. I have one in the squad that did all my Network Towers mission and a good amount of Smash n Grab and she's always the one with highest damage and most attacks in every mission.
    I look for maximum mobility for this build and once i have spider/wraith armor, speed PCS and Overdrive Serum RnG is rarely used so it's not an issue for Close Encounter.
  • Rifle and Stun Electroshock│Arc Pulser│Stun Gunner│Formidable│Hit and Run│Untouchable│Chain Lightning
    That build is more a control build thanks to the very strong Arc Thrower weapon but can still use a rifle. Hit and Run gives him some versatility to move - shoot - stun that rapid fire wouldn't allow. I found this build to be quite efficient as an officer (every other turn, you can't use the stungun), hence the survival perks. For a pure flanking skirmisher, the rifle shinobi is much better as he get hunter's instinct and can combine HnR and RF so the assault's interest is in the versatility offered by the stun.
    High Aim is required and some defense is nice but mostly good rifle AWC perks and quick learning (for an officer) are what i'm looking for on this build (i always play with AWC perks revealed so i can plan my builds and have increased the required level to avoid early OP builds)
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