XCOM 2: All Soldier Classes and Abilities

XCOM 2 Ranger

Squaddie

• Slash – Attack any enemy within movement range with your sword.

Corporal

• Phantom – When the squad is revealed, this soldier remains concealed.
• Blademaster – Deal +2 extra damage on all sword attacks.

Sergeant

• Shadowstrike – When concealed, gain +25 bonus Aim and +25 bonus critical hit chance when attacking enemies.
• Shadowstep – This soldier does not trigger overwatch or reaction fire.

Lieutenant

• Conceal – Immediately enter concealment once per misson.
• Run and Gun – Take an action after dashing. 3 turn cooldown.

Captain

• Implacable – If you score one or more kills on your turn, you are granted a single bonus move.
• Bladestorm – Free sword attacks on enemies that enter or attack from melee range.

Major

• Deep Cover – If you did not attack this turn, hunker down automatically.
• Untouchable – If you score a kill during your turn, the next attack against you during the enemy turn will miss.

Colonel

• Rapid Fire – Fire twice in a row at an enemy. Each shot suffers an Aim penalty of -15. There is no cooldown on this ability.
• Reaper – A devastating chain melee attack where the first melee attack cannot miss. Each melee kill in Reaper mode grants an extra action, but further melee attacks deal reduced damage. 4 turn cooldown.

XCOM 2 Sharpshooter

Squaddie

• Squadsight – You can target enemies within squadmates’ sight, provided there is line of sight to the target.

Corporal

• Long Watch – Allow Overwatch to trigger with Squadsight.
• Return Fire – When targeted by enemy fire, automatically fire back with your pistol once per turn.

Sergeant 

• Deadeye – Take a shot with a small aim penalty for a significant damage boost. 2 turn cooldown.
• Lightning Hands – Fire your pistol at a target. This attack does not cost an action. 3 turn cooldown.

Lieutenant

• Death From Above – Killing an enemy at a lower elevation with your sniper rifle costs only a single action and does not end your turn.
• Quickdraw – Firing your pistol with your first action no longer ends your turn.

Captain

• Kill Zone – Take a reaction shot against any enemy that moves or attacks within a cone of fire. 3 turn cooldown.
• Faceoff – Fire once at every visible enemy with your pistol. 3 turn cooldown.

Major

• Steady Hands – If you didn’t move last turn, gain +10 aim and +10 critical chance.
• Aim – Hunker Down now confers +20 aim to the first shot on the following turn.

Colonel

• Serial – Each kill made with your sniper rifle completely restores your actions. With each consecutive kill you get a critical chance penalty.
• Fan Fire – Fire the pistol 3 consecutive times at a single target. 3 turn cooldown.

XCOM 2 Grenadier

Squaddie 

• Launch Grenade – The Grenadier uses a grenade launcher to fire grenades rather than throwing them. This allows for greater grenade range and grenade capacity.The grenadier gains an extra inventory slot that may only be used for grenades.

Corporal

• Blast Padding – Your gear includes layers of extra padding and blast plates, granting a bonus point of Armor and 66% less damage from explosive attacks.
• Your cannon attacks shred armor.

Sergeant

• Demolition – Unleash a volley of bullets at your target’s cover, significantly damaging or destroying it. Deals no damage to your target.
• Suppression – Fire a barrage that pins down your target, granting reaction fire against it if it moves, and imposing a -50 penalty to the target’s aim. Suppression is cancelled if the Grenadier takes damage. Suppression penalties stack. Uses 2 ammo. No cooldown.

Lieutenant 

• Heavy Ordinance – The grenade in your grenade-only slot gains an bonus use. Affects support grenades, not just offensive ones.
• Holo Targeting – Any directed cannon shot, hit or miss, will mark the target, increasing your squad’s aim by +15 against this target. Applies to standard attacks and single-target abilities, including suppression.

Captain

• Volatile Mix – Grenades gain +1 tile to their radius and deal +2 damage. Does not increase environment damage.
• Chain Shot – Fires a shot with a penalty of 15 to aim. If it hits, immediately fire another shot at the target. Uses 2 ammo. 3-turn cooldown.

Major

• Salvo – Using the grenade launcher or a heavy weapon as your first action does not end the turn
• Hail of Bullets – Fire a shot that is guaranteed to hit. Uses 3 ammo. 5 turn cool down.

Colonel

• Saturation of Fire – Fire a hail of bullets in a cone damaging every enemy and all cover within. Uses 3 ammo, 5 turn cool down.
• Rupture – Fires a shot that deals critical damage. The target, if hit, will also take 3 additional damage from all sources. Uses 3 ammo. 3-turn cooldown.

XCOM 2 Specialist

Squaddie

• Hack – Attempt to breach security on a network access point with your GREMLIN.
• Command your GREMLIN to move to a friendly target. It grants that target a bonus to Defense until the start of the next player turn.

Corporal

• Medical Protocol – The GREMLIN can perform healing actions remotely: GREMLIN Heal and GREMLIN Stabilize. The GREMLIN has a single charge. If a medkit is equipped, the GREMLIN will gain an additional charge.
• Combat Protocol – Send the GREMLIN to an enemy to jolt them, dealing guaranteed damage, which is increased against robotic enemies. Twice per mission.

Sergeant

• Revival Protocol – Send the GREMLIN to an ally to remove any negative mental status effects. Disoriented, Stunned, Panicked, or Unconscious.
• Haywire Protocol – You may target robotic and mechanical enemies with your GREMLIN, attempting to hack them and seize control.

Lieutenant

• Field Medic – Equipped medikits have 2 extra charges.
• Scanning Protocol – The GREMLIN can trigger an instant scan of the area, increasing the Specialist’s sight radius substantially for one turn and revealing any hidden enemies.

Captain

• Covering Fire – Overwatch shots can now be triggered by enemy actions, not just movement.
• Threat Assessment – Aid Protocol now grants the target a Covering Fire Overwatch shot, but the Aid Protocol cooldown is increased by 1 turn.

Major

• Ever Vigilant – If you spend all of your actions on moves, you are granted an automatic overwatch shot at the end of the turn.
• Guardian – Grants 50% chance during Overwatch to perform an additional shot if the previous Overwatch shot hits. There’s no limit as to how many times Guardian can trigger.

Colonel

• Restoration – The GREMLIN flies to each squad member, healing or reviving them as needed. Once per mission.
• Capacitor Discharge – Send the GREMLIN to a location where it emits a substantial electric discharge, damaging and potentially stunning all nearby units. Robotic units take more damage. Once per mission.

XCOM 2 Psi Operative

• Soulfire – Does guaranteed psionic damage to an organic enemy, ignores cover and armor.
• Stasis – Completely stuns the target for 1 turn, but renders them immune to any damage or attack.
• Insanity – Debilitating telepathic attack that can inflict different negative conditions, including mental control of the target.
• Inspire – Grant a bonus action immediately to a nearby squadmate.
• Soul Steal – Using Soulfire now heals you for half of the damage dealt.
• Stasis Shield – Stasis can be used on friendly units
• Solace – The Psi Operative is surrounded by an aura that immediately extinguishes or blocks any mental impairments for themselves and any nearby allies. Passive.
• Sustain – Once per mission, when the psionic soldier is reduced to 0 hit points, he is instead reduced to 1 hit point and put into stasis for 1 turn.
• Schism – Insanity now does a small amount of guaranteed damage, and applies Rupture to the target.
• Fortress – The Psi Operative is immune to fire, poison, acid, and explosive damage.
• Fuse – If an enemy is carrying explosives, they can be remotely detonated by the Psi Operative.
• Domination – Permanently mind controls an enemy. Only one successful Domination can be performed per mission.
• Null Lance – Project a beam of psionic energy that damages every target it passes through.
• Void Rift – A large AoE ability dealing moderate damage and a chance to inflict insanity on all targets in the storm

For more XCOM 2 tips and guides, check out our ever-expanding wiki!