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Part 20
XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Part 20

XCOM: Enemy Unknown soldier ranks and abilities for Heavy and Sniper classes, including Aim, HP, and specific skills like Rocket and Headshot.

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XCOM: Enemy Unknown soldier ranks and abilities for Heavy and Sniper classes, including Aim, HP, and specific skills like Rocket and Headshot.

Walkthrough
  1. 1
    Rookie (Rank 0): All soldiers start as Rookies with no special skills beyond basic hunker and overwatch (a reaction shot when an enemy moves into your line of sight). They cannot be turned into MECs (Mechanized Combat Exosuits). Aim is 65, HP is 4.
  2. 2
    Heavy Soldier Progression:
  3. 3
    Rank 1 Squaddie: Fire rocket (does 6 damage in a large radius; damage increases with Blaster Launcher or Mayhem skill; enemies killed by rockets drop no items).
  4. 4
    Rank 2 Corporal: Choose between Bullet swarm (shooting as the first action does not end your turn) or Holo-targeting (shooting a target grants +10 aim to all other units targeting the same enemy; mostly useless).
  5. 5
    Rank 3 Sergeant: Choose between Shredder Rocket (does 4 damage in a large radius, enemies hit take 33% more damage) or Suppression (causes an enemy to have -30 aim and grants a reaction shot if they move; very useful).
  6. 6
    Rank 4 Lieutenant: Choose between Heat Ammo (causes 50% more damage to mechanical enemies) or Rapid Reaction (causes a second reaction shot if the first hits; near useless due to Heavies' poor aim).
  7. 7
    Rank 5 Captain: Choose between Grenadier (allows two grenades per inventory slot and causes grenades to do +1 extra damage) or Danger Zone (increases radius of rockets and suppression; suppression can hit multiple enemies; still mostly useless as it cannot be turned off and aliens rarely bunch up).
  8. 8
    Rank 6 Major: Will to survive (all damage taken while in cover (press the cover button to crouch behind walls or objects) and not flanked does -2 damage).
  9. 9
    Rank 7 Colonel: Choose between Rocketeer (allows firing an extra rocket per battle) or Mayhem (causes suppression, rockets, and grenades to do damage equal to the tier of the gun carried: Regular +1, Laser +2, Plasma +3).
  10. 10
    Sniper Soldier Progression:
  11. 11
    Aim: 105, HP: 7
  12. 12
    Rank 1: Headshot (adds 30% extra chance to cause critical damage; critical damage varies based on sniper rifle tier: +1 for Bullet, +2 for Laser, +3 for Plasma).
  13. 13
    Rank 2: Choose between Snap Shot (allows the sniper to move and shoot their sniper rifle, with a -10 drop in aim) or Squad Sight (allows the sniper to shoot any enemy the team sees, provided there is a line of fire; nerfed so only Headshot causes criticals with this skill; highly recommended).
  14. 14
    Rank 3: Choose between Gunslinger (adds +2 damage to pistols; useless) or Damn Good Ground (adds +10 aim and -10 aim to enemies below the character's elevation; stacks with elevation bonuses).
  15. 15
    Rank 4: Disabling Shot (causes an enemy to have to reload, preventing them from shooting; very useful, stacks with Squad Sight).
Tips
  • Will values are randomly increased on level up and cannot be guaranteed.
  • HP values increase by +1 for normal difficulty, +2 for classic, and -1 for impossible.
  • Enemies killed by rockets will not drop fragments or any items they were carrying.
  • Holo-targeting for Heavies is mostly useless.
  • Rapid Reaction for Heavies is near useless due to their poor aim.
  • Grenadier for Heavies is mostly useless as rockets are generally preferred over grenades.
  • Danger Zone for Heavies is mostly useless and can prevent rocket use in certain circumstances.
  • Gunslinger for Snipers is useless, even with plasma pistols or upgrades.
  • Squad Sight for Snipers is highly recommended for its long-range effectiveness.
  • A sniper with a jetpack and Squad Sight using Damn Good Ground gains +10 Aim and +10 defense while having free range to shoot everyone on the map.

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