Ranger builds

Share strategy and tips here.
Undershaft
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2016 8:18 pm

Ranger builds

Post by Undershaft »

Haven't found a dedicated topic for this one yet. Maybe it's self-evident, just a question of how much survivability to mix in.
Still, I'm not sure about a couple of picks, so here it goes.

1) Reliable damage dealer and finisher

Walk Fire - Locked on - (a) Aggression/Center Mass - Executioner - (b) Bring 'em on / Formidable - Rapid Fire - Rupture

a) I find Center Mass really useful in the early game, as the extra point of damage often makes a decisive difference. Later on, however, high crit chance is more important - and since you encounter larger pods, you should get way more out of Aggression.
So maybe take Center Mass for your first two non-overwatch rangers and then Aggression for the later ones, and respec the old ones?
Or is Center Mass still useful later on in a way I'm not seeing?

b) Here I'm not quite sure. Is the extra damage when fighting large numbers of enemies always more valuable than the extra point of armor (which is nothing to sneeze at when combined with other sources) and the protection from explosives? Taking Bring 'Em On seems the obvious choice when you've already taken Aggression, and should really make a difference against large crowds. However, maybe one shouldn't forego survivability completely, at least with the "early" Rangers without Aggression?

2) Overwatcher

Covering Fire - (a) Suppression/Locked On - Cool under Pressure - Grazing Fire - Ever Vigilant - Rapid Reaction (!) - (b) Rupture / Killzone

a) Suppression seems to be the expected choice - however, doesn't it become less sensible once you reach Rapid Reaction?
And here, Locked On could really help with the second and third Rapid Reaction shot at a running berserker, for example.

b) Not sure about the last tier. Is Killzone that useful on a ranger (compared to LW1 snipers)? Can you usually get enough enemies in the zone that it becomes better than Rapid Reaction already is? Or is the possibility of using Rupture against a sectopod more important and worth it not to end your turn in overwatch for once (which could be compensated by a Specialist's Threat Assessment)? Combat Fitness doesn't seem a good choice, because for me the extra movement is one of its main attractions and with Ever Vigilant, you can yellow-move without losing offensive power, which is enough mobility.
trihero
Posts: 1099
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2017 7:01 am

Re: Ranger builds

Post by trihero »

1a) I agree center mass is a newbie trap, later on especially on higher difficulties mobs go way past your ability to one shot them and critical hits become very powerful.

1b) bring'em on, it goes well with with aggression. Ranger typically has room to wear good armors anyways (unlike grenadiers, for instance).

2a) I don't like suppression on ranger, you have more important things to do like shoot twice or move twice with ever vigilant. It also doesn't work with rapid reaction.

2b) combat fitness is actually all right, considering you live and die on overwatch shots so any bit of aim helps with that. I don't like killzone, it's never been quite reliable for me. I like rupture a lot for the late game when you're facing down sectopods/gatekeepers you don't want to not have it on someone at least.
Jacke
Posts: 623
Joined: Sat Jan 28, 2017 1:10 am

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Jacke »

Ranger, the only soldier class besides SPARK I still only having a single build. And with the high time out-of-action to change perks, I always plan to build for the length of the campaign. Only when I have multiple builds for a single class do I vary how I build when (example, for the Supply Raid coming in April, I make my first Specialist a Medic rather than a Primary/Hacker mix).

Ranger
Covering Fire - Locked On - Cool Under Pressure - Grazing Fire - Ever Vigilant - Rapid Reaction - Rupture

The Ranger is the volume fire overwatch soldier. Covering Fire means that aliens who stay put and shoot will get some too (but it is weak, what with no reduction in cover). With class perk Light 'Em Up and Rapid Reaction, will be firing multiple shots per turn and Locked On helps. Cool Under Pressure makes reaction shots hit more often and gives a chance for them to crit. Grazing Fire makes Rapid Reaction get more double and triple overwatch reaction shots. Ever Vigilant means the Ranger can do a yellow move and set up in Overwatch. Rapid Reaction is the key and mean the Ranger can get 4 shots out per turn (1 direct, 3 overwatch reaction). Rupture is vital to cracking hard targets and defeating them faster.

Note that others have tested Suppression and it isn't affected by Rapid Reaction. Don't know about Killzone, but others have had problems with it.
Solomani
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2017 2:52 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Solomani »

I've found suppression valuable on one of my Rangers. Comes in handy when an Assault fails to finish off a flank. I'm only at late, early game though.. so no idea how it holds up.

Walk Fire, Suppression, Aggression, Executioner

I don't know if Executioner actually works with Suppression either. How would you validate that?
Daergar
Posts: 93
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2015 7:47 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Daergar »

Re-specced all my rangers into pure overwatch murderers with combat fitness as the last perk. More aim, more mobility, more hp, constant buff unlike rupture and killzone.

I have two 8man msgt teams and two more gsgt/msgt teams near perfected (could end the campaign if I cared to). My top three rangers have around 100 aim, my main girl has like 105 and that's before perks and elite hair-trigger/scope bonuses.

Landing three overwatch shots every single turn on anything that tries to move, shoot or throw/fire explosives at me, and hitting every single time is a game-changer. Plus, every time aid protocol with covering fire is off cool-down on the specialist, you can fire two very accurate shots and still go into overwatch, for a total of five shots during that turn cycle.

Once you never miss a reaction shot on a baddie in high cover, you're feeling pretty smug. ;)
trihero
Posts: 1099
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2017 7:01 am

Re: Ranger builds

Post by trihero »

I'm curious to see how your strategy works on legend, when elite officers have 21 hp by the time you have coilguns o.O
Undershaft
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2016 8:18 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Undershaft »

Daergar wrote: Once you never miss a reaction shot on a baddie in high cover, you're feeling pretty smug. ;)
I like overwatch rangers very much too, but they have some disadvantages: a) They can get outmaneuvered by aliens with Lightning Reflexes. b) You cannot choose whom to shoot at and sometimes they "waste" their shots on lesser enemies who move or act first. c) They can lose shots through disorientation, suppression or taking damage.

"Reliable executioners" have a lot to offer as well, in my opinion. The ability to take out a specific low-health enemy with Walk Fire has come in handy lots of times, and high-crit standard shot followed by rapid fire can kill a high-health alien when you need it to die. With pure overwatchers, you don't have that level of control.

For that reason, I like to bring two rangers on a mission - one of each kind.
Goumindong
Posts: 193
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:04 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Goumindong »

There is really only one ranger build worth considering. And, importantly, rangers don't go in your main squad until maybe, maybe, super late. Take a sniper instead. They're much stronger at all points.

If putting a rookie into the tank to become a ranger. Focus on mobility, defense, and hit points over all other considerations.

For AWC consider focusing on mobility and defensive options. Pistols are right out. The PCS you're looking for is "Combat awareness". Alternate is PCS: Overwatch control (75)

Covering Fire: Synergizes well with later options. Walk fire is comparatively weak and gets weaker as the game goes on. Close and Personal would be a great choice... but you need covering fire to work the proper synergy.

Pump Action: Because locked on has little to no synergy with later options. Similarly with suppression.

Cool Under Pressure: Aggression and Center Mass are both great, but not so great as to negate the need to be cool. Bonus crit chance doesn't matter if we can't crit when overwatching.

Fortify: Executioner is a trap. Few units will have lower than half HP when the ranger will be firing. It also breaks synergy with Bring Em On (not that we will be taking Bring em On anyway, as that is also a trap). Grazing fire is nice but our aim will be sky high anyway. So no worries there.

Ever Vigilant Oh man formidable would be great here. But unfortunately its on the wrong slot and we 100% need ever Vigilant in order for this thing to work. Bring em on is a trap. If you're in a situation where its very valuable then you're also in a situation where you would rather have a sniper or someone with high area damage*.

Rapid Reaction: Ditto Tactical Sense. We wants is so bad... its soooo good. But at the same time. We need rapid reaction.

Combat Fitness: Rupture would be a strong contender here but we're not ever going to be in a position to use it. Ditto

How does this build work:

Well it simple. You get a shotgun and you run into some poor fools face (ideally on a flank). If they move, you shoot them with a shotgun blast in the face three times. If they shoot... you shoot them with a shotgun blast in the face three times. Because you have lots of OW fire you can stack Fortify(+20 defense) and Combat Awareness(+15 defense/+1 armor) for +35 defense/+1 armor every time you double move. You have high mobility so you can get to the flanks you need to make. You're, more or less, a CCS assault that can crit... and also shoots three times


*there are some specialty exceptions: If you get "phantom" as a bonus skill for your ranger you can stack Bring Em On with faceoff for massive stealth reveals. Though ideally you also want shadow strike with this.
Undershaft
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2016 8:18 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Undershaft »

Now I'm curious how your main squad is made up.

If the Ranger wasn't worth their salt, that would be a shame. I like the Ranger. The idea of the classic G.I. with their trusty assault rifle shooting a burst here, shooting a burst there somehow appeals to my sense of aethetics. The question is: would I sacrifice that for a more effective unit constelation? ;)
Jacke
Posts: 623
Joined: Sat Jan 28, 2017 1:10 am

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Jacke »

Goumindong wrote:There is really only one ranger build worth considering.

Covering Fire - Pump Action - Cool Under Pressure - Fortify - Ever Vigilant - Rapid Reaction - Combat Fitness
My build for the Ranger as a fast flanking overwatch demon.

Ranger
Covering Fire - Locked On - Cool Under Pressure - Grazing Fire - Ever Vigilant - Rapid Reaction - Rupture

Three critical differences.

Locked On

Whenever there's a second and later shot at the same target without switching, Locked On applies +10 aim and +10 crit. This includes the shots in Rapid Reaction and those using Light 'Em Up. Rangers will be focused on a single target a lot so it helps.

Unless the Ranger has Run and Gun and one of Lighting Reflexes or Shadowstep, going in close to use the Sawed Off is hard and risky. And even if you double up the ammo with Pump Action, on long missions it'll still run out. Buffing the primary is the gift that keeps giving in the longest missions.

Suppression should be left to Gunners and some Technicals. The Ranger is too busy flanking and doing triple overwatch shots.

Grazing Fire

This helps Rapid Reaction get to 3 shots a turn by making it easier to hit with some damage. As well, on later weapons, a graze is still a significant hit.

Executioner only works about half the time. Fortify only protects 1 turn out of 5. Grazing Fire is there every shot causing more damage.

Rupture

Every Ranger and Gunner no matter the build should take Rupture. Buffing all damage hits by 3 after a Rupture is massive. You want to open up on tough targets with Rupture first. When it hits, it buffs everyone's damage on that target, not just the soldier with the perk. Haven't gotten a max level Ranger or Gunner, but I believe the cooldown on Rupture is 3 turns. That sounds good.

Rupture is just too good to pass up. Combat Fitness and Kill Zone can't compare.
Goumindong
Posts: 193
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:04 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Goumindong »

Both of those are viable(though locked on less so) if you're using a rifle.

But you should be using a shotgun. At which point you're either at basically 100% to-hit anyway because the target is in your face, or they're too far away to hit and it doesn't matter.
aimlessgun
Posts: 66
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:22 am

Re: Ranger builds

Post by aimlessgun »

Here's the hybrid build I use on most of my Rangers, aimed at maximizing their power through all stages of the game. I don't think making a full Overwatch build is worth it on your core guys because you give up too much early game power.

Walk Fire - It's like a crappy Hail of Bullets you can use every turn. Stuff that makes sure you finish low HP enemies is very valuable.

Locked On - It's ok. The other options are worse.

Center Mass - Mathematically better than Aggression almost all the time until lategame when Aggression is better some of the time. Mathematically better than Cool Under Pressure for Overwatch shots most of the time until lategame. Great early game, not bad lategame, I'll take it.

Grazing Fire - More Rapid Reactions. More consistent finishing of low HP enemies. More applications of Venom and Dragon rounds. The other options aren't very good.

Ever Vigilant - Great with Rapid Reaction obviously, makes you a mobile turret of overwatch doom.

Rapid Reaction - Awww yeah. With 3 shots from RR and then 2 shots during your turn, your Ranger is dropping 5 shots in the first turn of a pod activation, or 4 shots and re-overwatching for the next pod.

Combat Fitness or Rupture - You don't really need 2 Ruptures in a squad IMO. Give Rupture to the gunner/ranger who doesn't really need the mobility/aim, Combat Fitness for everyone else on the team.

A shooty non-RR build with Rapid Fire is also fine, and it makes Aggression a real option if you take Bring em On.
Goumindong wrote:There is really only one ranger build worth considering. And, importantly, rangers don't go in your main squad until maybe, maybe, super late. Take a sniper instead. They're much stronger at all points.
Lowkey sarcasm post? ;)
Goumindong
Posts: 193
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:04 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Goumindong »

aimlessgun wrote:
Goumindong wrote:There is really only one ranger build worth considering. And, importantly, rangers don't go in your main squad until maybe, maybe, super late. Take a sniper instead. They're much stronger at all points.
Lowkey sarcasm post? ;)
No. 100% serious. A snapshot sharpshooter is better than a ranger at all points. A ranger is worth, at most, two rookies until they get a lot of skills. And rookies are not valuable. You would rather have basically any other class. A specialist can aid protocol, preventing your vulnerable units from taking damage. A gunner can suppress or area suppress. A shinobi can flank and scout. An assault can run and gun. So on, so forth, Grenadiers can do blow all the things up.

Most importantly is the combined facts that

1) Rangers cannot get exposed shots without heavy allied cover destruction... which more or less does not exist until late. So you're always shooting into cover. A ranger that moves to shoot is no better than a rookie. Literally a rookie with maybe a tracer round.

2) Rangers primary advantage is to be able to take defensive actions after shooting... but this is not valuable until you have resources that let your other allies take similar defensive stances/not be in range.

The only real advantage of rangers is the sawed off shotgun. And its not that much better than a regular shotgun that its worth bringing an entire class on its back. Moreover that advantage is better the fewer enemies there are which makes rangers ideal for anti-faceless missions.

Lategame, when they get all their overwatch stuff up, they can be valuable. But again, more valuable as advisors.
aimlessgun
Posts: 66
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:22 am

Re: Ranger builds

Post by aimlessgun »

Snapshot sniper? I'm not sure if I understand the comparison. What is a snapshot sniper doing so well anyways early game?

Role of a Ranger is a consistent damage dealer that doesn't rely on cooldowns and kills 2 ayys a turn, almost every turn, all mission. They do that pretty well. A sniper literally cannot do that.

~edited my post to be less rude :oops:
Last edited by aimlessgun on Tue Feb 14, 2017 3:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
trihero
Posts: 1099
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2017 7:01 am

Re: Ranger builds

Post by trihero »

I think rangers are fine early on. Assaults just wind up pulling more mobs with r+g, so I value assaults less than rangers.

Yeah, rangers often shoot into high cover, but wait a minute who isn't? Grenadiers have limited grenades (and they aggro with sound radius), assault like I said before pulls mobs (very bad), sharpshooters also shoot into high cover, technicals even more limited rockets, etc etc etc. You don't win by aid protocoling one guy every other turn. Shinobis are sitting ducks once unconcealed and pull mobs like assaults. You don't win by area suppressing either, you need someone to actually do some damage. Rangers are good at providing volume of fire and have a ghetto hail of bullets in the form of walk fire.

At least rangers have walk fire and locked on and they fire twice, so actually they're pretty superior for shooting into high cover.
Goumindong
Posts: 193
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:04 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Goumindong »

aimlessgun wrote:Snapshot sniper? I'm not sure if I understand the comparison. What is a snapshot sniper doing so well anyways early game?

Role of a Ranger is a consistent damage dealer that doesn't rely on cooldowns and kills 2 ayys a turn, almost every turn, all mission. They do that pretty well. A sniper literally cannot do that.

~edited my post to be less rude :oops:
A ranger cannot kill 2 aliens per turn unless they stand out in the open for you to kill. In which case many classes can kill two aliens per turn.

If they're not standing out in the open for you to kill then you're going to need to move (because you do not have BVR targeting and so cannot set up flanks that aliens will not respect). And if you have to move you get zero value from your ranger as compared to any other class.

If you're just shooting at aliens in low cover and hoping that you will hit then well... you're going to kill, on average, .75 aliens per turn (75 to-hit - 25 low cover = 50% to hit. Aliens have 4 to 8 HP and you do 3-5 damage). Which is not that impressive. And frankly you don't want to be getting into volume of fire fights with aliens early in the game anyway.

Once you start adding ranks... every other class will be adding valuable options while rangers get... well not that valuable options.

Yea. I would absolutely rather bring another rocket and two flame charges than bring a ranger. I would absolutely love to bring 3 more large grenades (or flashbangs or smoke). The only class that kills worse than the ranger is the specialist. And at least they can defend their allies.
User avatar
Valaska
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2016 5:45 am

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Valaska »

Goumindong wrote:
aimlessgun wrote:Snapshot sniper? I'm not sure if I understand the comparison. What is a snapshot sniper doing so well anyways early game?

Role of a Ranger is a consistent damage dealer that doesn't rely on cooldowns and kills 2 ayys a turn, almost every turn, all mission. They do that pretty well. A sniper literally cannot do that.

~edited my post to be less rude :oops:
A ranger cannot kill 2 aliens per turn unless they stand out in the open for you to kill. In which case many classes can kill two aliens per turn.

If they're not standing out in the open for you to kill then you're going to need to move (because you do not have BVR targeting and so cannot set up flanks that aliens will not respect). And if you have to move you get zero value from your ranger as compared to any other class.

If you're just shooting at aliens in low cover and hoping that you will hit then well... you're going to kill, on average, .75 aliens per turn (75 to-hit - 25 low cover = 50% to hit. Aliens have 4 to 8 HP and you do 3-5 damage). Which is not that impressive. And frankly you don't want to be getting into volume of fire fights with aliens early in the game anyway.

Once you start adding ranks... every other class will be adding valuable options while rangers get... well not that valuable options.

Yea. I would absolutely rather bring another rocket and two flame charges than bring a ranger. I would absolutely love to bring 3 more large grenades (or flashbangs or smoke). The only class that kills worse than the ranger is the specialist. And at least they can defend their allies.
Yes they can, high aim and elite scopes. My rangers often kill 2 people.
leudaimon
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2017 6:26 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by leudaimon »

Valaska wrote:
Goumindong wrote:
aimlessgun wrote:Snapshot sniper? I'm not sure if I understand the comparison. What is a snapshot sniper doing so well anyways early game?

Role of a Ranger is a consistent damage dealer that doesn't rely on cooldowns and kills 2 ayys a turn, almost every turn, all mission. They do that pretty well. A sniper literally cannot do that.

~edited my post to be less rude :oops:
A ranger cannot kill 2 aliens per turn unless they stand out in the open for you to kill. In which case many classes can kill two aliens per turn.

If they're not standing out in the open for you to kill then you're going to need to move (because you do not have BVR targeting and so cannot set up flanks that aliens will not respect). And if you have to move you get zero value from your ranger as compared to any other class.

If you're just shooting at aliens in low cover and hoping that you will hit then well... you're going to kill, on average, .75 aliens per turn (75 to-hit - 25 low cover = 50% to hit. Aliens have 4 to 8 HP and you do 3-5 damage). Which is not that impressive. And frankly you don't want to be getting into volume of fire fights with aliens early in the game anyway.

Once you start adding ranks... every other class will be adding valuable options while rangers get... well not that valuable options.

Yea. I would absolutely rather bring another rocket and two flame charges than bring a ranger. I would absolutely love to bring 3 more large grenades (or flashbangs or smoke). The only class that kills worse than the ranger is the specialist. And at least they can defend their allies.
Yes they can, high aim and elite scopes. My rangers often kill 2 people.
Also great to kill high HP MECs and other stuff that don't use cover. For those, a non-overwatch, high-crit, rapid fire build works wonders.
Ketchup4684
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2017 3:29 am

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Ketchup4684 »

Undershaft wrote:
Daergar wrote: Once you never miss a reaction shot on a baddie in high cover, you're feeling pretty smug. ;)
I like overwatch rangers very much too, but they have some disadvantages: a) They can get outmaneuvered by aliens with Lightning Reflexes. b) You cannot choose whom to shoot at and sometimes they "waste" their shots on lesser enemies who move or act first. c) They can lose shots through disorientation, suppression or taking damage.

"Reliable executioners" have a lot to offer as well, in my opinion. The ability to take out a specific low-health enemy with Walk Fire has come in handy lots of times, and high-crit standard shot followed by rapid fire can kill a high-health alien when you need it to die. With pure overwatchers, you don't have that level of control.

For that reason, I like to bring two rangers on a mission - one of each kind.
Enemies with Shadowstep (Sidewinders) also dont trigger overwatch at all.
Daergar
Posts: 93
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2015 7:47 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Daergar »

I find it rather pointless to discuss builds if people are going to do it in a vacuum.

Aliens immune to overwatch, most often the naughty snakes. Indeed, which is why they are dealt with before the end of the turn. I tend to set them on fire, crispy critters don't bother me for at least two turns.

Wasting overwatch fire on lesser aliens. Indeed, which is why you position yourself properly with sight-lines, and usually deal with drones and the likes before the end of the turn.

Damage soaking enemies such as Mecs and elite mutons. Indeed, which is what your sniper, specialist and assault are for, to take them out of the equation.

I can reliably use my rangers to kill three advent trooper targets per round, since I know they will hit, I can soften up clusters with one plasma grenade from a grenadier, bring them out of cover and weakened enough to be finished off. That's not counting the one or two I can shoot during my own turn.

I will definitely try the shotgun flank style ranger asap, that's something I've not considering myself (since I use an assault for that job, run n' gun's 50% extra damage and 100% crit chance makes things dead).
Goumindong
Posts: 193
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:04 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Goumindong »

Just note that you cannot use fortify the same turn or the ever vigilant will not trigger.
gimrah
Long War 2 Crew
Posts: 422
Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2016 12:25 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by gimrah »

I run two builds:

1) Marksman: Walk fire -> Locked On -> Cool Under Pressure -> [any] -> Ever Vigilant -> Rapid reaction -> [any]

The role evolves as he progresses. Early on he's a finisher - and walk fire is a great perk and locked on helps. The OW perks really come in at GSGT, where you can dash into flanking positions and then shoot multiple times as they run away. Locked on still helps on OW for those it takes more than one hit to kill. Apparently fortify doesn't work with Ever Vigilant which is very annoying, but it's still a good perk. My thinking is the OW build also allows the ranger to provide mobile multi-shot so he can still be useful on timed missions.

2) Haven adviser / retaliation defence: Straight down the middle limb sawn-off specialist and tank.

Also becomes an officer to enhance the role. Sawn-off is a reliable way to execute a faceless without wasting a good gun on a haven adviser. Sawn-off is also good on missions with reinforcements dropping around you, i.e. various of the retaliation missions. And he gets quite tanky, so in a pinch he can take risks and draw fire from your rebels (or just have a decent chance of surviving if you don't have spare armour for him).
JulianSkies
Posts: 301
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2017 12:17 am

Re: Ranger builds

Post by JulianSkies »

I do have a silly soft crowd control ranger build that I use, it hinges on having venom or dragon rounds.
Walk Fire, Suppression, (something), Grazing Fire, Formidable, Tactical Sense, (something).
It's function is basically to apply fire/poison to targets every turn keeping enemies out of the fight.
Undershaft
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2016 8:18 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by Undershaft »

Daergar wrote:I find it rather pointless to discuss builds if people are going to do it in a vacuum.

Aliens immune to overwatch, most often the naughty snakes. Indeed, which is why they are dealt with before the end of the turn. I tend to set them on fire, crispy critters don't bother me for at least two turns.

Wasting overwatch fire on lesser aliens. Indeed, which is why you position yourself properly with sight-lines, and usually deal with drones and the likes before the end of the turn.

Damage soaking enemies such as Mecs and elite mutons. Indeed, which is what your sniper, specialist and assault are for, to take them out of the equation.
Goumindong wrote:A ranger is worth, at most, two rookies until they get a lot of skills.
Again, not saying that overwatchers are bad in any way. But your observations seem to be based on the assumption of perfect circumstances and your ability to reliably create and maintain them - something that I cannot claim for myself.

Apart from the fact that there are often several snakes or chryssalids around, which I find hard to "deal with" before the end of the turn with certainty, my main problem is with running around to "position yourself properly with sight-lines" and relying on assaults (or triple overwatch assaulty rangers) to take out damage soaking enemies. The same goes for moving a snapshot sniper on the sidelines to create flanking shots.

All of these actions involve getting closer to the enemy and/or revealing unseen tiles, which often leads to pod activation in the middle of a firefight. And that is something I really hate and try to avoid, playing on ironman and all. I prefer to remain stationary behind full cover if I can. And here, non-overwatch rangers have something to offer, in my limited experience. They can deal with an annoying low-health alien behind full cover through walk fire. They can take out a big alien with rupture and/or high-crit rapid fire, or at least play a big part in that endeavour.

Also, the overwatch build only becomes effective once you reach Rapid Reaction, which is quite a way down the career path. And until that point in the campaign (even beyond that) I appreciate what the "reliable damage dealer" has to bring to the table - a lot, actually! My rangers have the highest kills scores in my roster, together with the DFA Snipers.

And especially in the early game, having "two rookies in one", as Goumindong put it, seems rather valuable to me, because a) the "two" of them are significantly better at shooting than rookies and b) any "additional" soldier who doesn't prolong infiltration times helps. One other thing I like about the ranger as a damage dealer is that he has access to new weaponry sooner than snipers, gunners and assaults.

Admittedly, I'm not a brilliant strategist and tactician, and maybe for the true pros, there are better classes and perk combinations.
On my next playthrough, I will check out some of the suggestions made here. Until then, I will continue using rangers and see if their value drops in the later game (I'm still at the mag-gun level at the moment).
ru2dvs
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:36 pm

Re: Ranger builds

Post by ru2dvs »

The non-overwatch build I feel is much stronger for rangers, mostly due to the combination of Aggression + Bring 'Em On.

The new AWC allows Faceoff to be available for all classes, and out of the box, the Ranger is the class best suited to take maximum advantage of it.

Out of concealment, you can perform a 100% crit (40% flanking, 30% aggression, 20% Officer, 10% Talon rounds) Faceoff shot. With a mag pistol, this will do 14-17 damage to every target, and all kills will not destroy corpses. In addition, the short cooldown on Faceoff means that the ranger has access to a very strong AOE tool that becomes more powerful with any form of cover destruction or concealment AWC perks.

Assault has access to the same setup, but typically doesn't have the Aim to take maximum advantage of the perk, and Bring 'Em On for Assault has to complete with Close Combat Specialist. Rangers have can get this setup as early as Tech Sergeant (although typically for me any Assault/Ranger with a Faceoff at the top of the pistol tree will be groomed down this line).
Post Reply