OK. So now that i had a little more time to go through all of this text.
Strategic Changes
Between the announced (but unknown) changes to stealth and 0% missions, I expect a pretty different strategic game in 1.3. Some of those changes might be the emerging part of a much bigger iceberg. I sure hope stealth stays a viable option, but it should really be an option, not the only option and not something optimal.
SmashandGrab
The new mission is obviously eagerly awaited. We'll see how they play.
RadioRelays
A nice boost to liberation. I wonder if it means normal Radio Relays will become more expansive to slow down horizontal spread and put more emphasis on liberation. It always looked wrong to me that you would liberate your first region and then ignore liberation completely to rush the storyline missions.
I'll just rationalize that you can recover broadcast equipment and install it some place where ADVENT doesn't have eyes.
Hiding
Looks like a simple clarification.
TrialByFire
This is an officer perk but i put it here as it could be what we need to grow our barracks in the mid game and field more squads when things "get interesting", allowing less pure stealth missions. I hope it doesn't come too late or it would just end up a negligible bonus to the late game but if it comes at an officer rank you can achieve by June it would really help turn those rookies you can finally recruit into something useful. I fear late game rookies will still end up being suicide fodder but obviously there must be a limit to the "free" leveling. I was among those who suggested some sort of training helper for new recruits so i'm really pleased to see this coming (even thought i suspect Joinrbs words on this issue had more impact than mine
)
Equipment
Few changes
Grenade Launcher
Did you notice this one lost it's AoE bonus. Incendiary grenades eat a nerf in the process. I hope it means it's available earlier.
Flashbang Grenade
This definitely makes sense and hopefully we'll have other tools when those "powerful enemies" show up.
Supressor
Simple clarification, no change
Perks
A lot of changes, and maybe more that we can't really see such as perks moving around in the trees.
Rupture
No auto-crit is a small nerf. I'm not sure rupture required one and i don't think it will make the perk bad, not much of a change for me but maybe someone found a way to abuse it that i didn't.
Coup De Grace
Now it will probably become useful. A good bonus to hit and crit can probably push a sword close to 100% for both in order to take down those Archons when they are disabled. Still requires attacking disabled enemies but at least i can see it as something useful to get rid of annoying enemies.
Whirlwind
More than the previous one, this is a nice boost to melee builds. Being able to move back to cover even if you didn't kill your target is great. It will probably replace Implacable thought and i used to like that one for my rifle shinobis.
ChainLightning
Faceoff
Much deserved nerfs. It was fun to freeze 16 enemies out of cover for 2 full rounds but a little silly. Faceoff will stop being an OP opener, well, we have other good openers but i hope they won't remove all of them each time the next best opener becomes the best one after the previous best one have been removed.
Formidable
This one gets an interesting treatment being buffed
and nerfed with a single change. It will be better for an occasional hit, but worse to build the ultimate tank. All in all i think it will be better balanced as the possibly abusive use is nerfed while the "legit" use is buffed.
SnapShot
A nice boost from my PoV. Overwatching was never my favorite action with a sharpshooter but being able to take normal squadsight shots if i don't move or move to a closer position if i don't have LoS (or i'm on a timed mission) brings a lot of versatility to the sharpshooter.
CloseEncounters
HitandRun
Both of those now provide the same benefit in different situations. One is better for Shotgun users, the other for rifle users. None can be abused with RnG to take 3 shots anymore. They become real alternatives depending on your build.
Flush
A nice little boost to a usually useless skill. We'll see if it's enough to make it attractive compared to crushing cover with more ammunition than before.
BiggestBooms
Bugfix.
CoveringFire
OK. Now that's good. CF will now apply a mild CC effect on any targets shot at (you don't need to actually hit) and it trigger before they actually shoot at you. That 10% reduction in aim might not look like a lot but it can save lives.
OTOH, we'll hate Advent Sentries even more
Serial
It was to be expected and brings it to it's LW1 (In the zone) level and makes it more similar to reaper. I would probably have preferred a proper fix to the broken interaction with Autoloaders as Serial wasn't broken on it's own but it might be easier to implement this way.
Phosphorus
A small shred effect is nice but it looks like it's fixed and won't grow with better Gauntlets. The description doesn't say it shreds only armor on mechanical targets so it will probably also shred armor on organic enemies and that might be the main benefit of taking this perk.
Psi Operatives
Another big topic. Many changes have been discussed and many were awaiting a boost to Psi Ops. Those now known upcoming changes leave me slightly sceptical but it's hard to guess how they will interact with each other without actually testing the game so i'll reserve my judgment.
Quick Study
A fun boost to make training AWC and officer perks an option and compensate for Psi Tank time. Strong as an AWC perk for other classes, not sure how much Psi Ops themselves will benefit from it. It will make Psi officers an option (and those would be the absolute best Faceless hunters) but many AWC abilities (including the entire pistol tree) won't be very useful with the Psi Ops crappy aim. It's a free bonus so i won't complain.
Jedi Mind Trick
Hidden in the Psi Amp description is the suggested (by "i don't remember who") Jedi Mind Trick to reduce infiltration time for Psi Ops. This looks like some sort of stunt to make them more viable without boosting their skills to possibly OP levels and is certainly an option but ultimately since you have to invest much more in Psi Ops to get them available than any other class, they will need useful skills if they are to see any action at all.
Fuse
One of the best Psi Ops skills gets a nerf when almost everyone considers them underpowered. For the first skill change it's a disappointment. Hopefully it's a very short cooldown that's mostly there to avoid command into multiple fuse.
SoulSteal
Interesting and from the description is looks like you can stack multiple ablative HP. It fixes one of the biggest flaws of this skill : the requirement to be wounded first to be useful, and since it can actually prevent infirmary downtime, it might become much more attractive than it was. My only regret is that it looks like it's a fixed 1 HP gain rather than some small fraction of damage dealt that might eventually grow to 2 by the end (when aliens hit really hard)
Mind Merge
And Mind Merge get back the crit bonus from LW1. This was probably one of the easiest changes to make it more attractive. The boost can be significant with Soul Merge easily throwing a partial crit build to 100% crit chance. I can see some nice synergies with Rangers. I suggested this change (certainly among other players) so i'm of course glad to see it.
Solace
Does it become an action? Does it cost and action? Does it end your turn? Hard to guess how it was changed.
It was probably changed because of reported FPS drops but it was a useful ability before the changes. I have a hard time knowing how much it looses power but i can't help feel like it's a pretty significant nerf. You'll likely have to use an action now. You won't be able to help multiple squadmates. You're no longer immune to those effects yourself. Finally, it's another Psi ability that will directly compare with a Specilaist ability (Mind Merge was often viewed as a poor man's Aid Protocol before it's boost, now at least it has a unique and potentially powerful effect) and i'm not sure this will help the Psi Op. I'll have to see how it actually works.