Skyblade's Eyes on XCOM Signups

[Skyblade]

Would it be possible for you to explain whatever skills you end up using are, Skyblade? Like Overwatch for example. Just so we know what they are and what the purpose is.

Good idea, but just to save waiting for Skyblade to answer, overwatch is a skill you can use if you've only moved once (usually) instead of shooting. It let's the soldier take a shot at any enemy that moves within their field of vision. Can't begin to describe how many times it's saved my butt by killing something before they got to cover and shot me.

For more details: Overwatch is extremely powerful, and extremely limited.

An Overwatch shot has reduced Aim (10 to 20%, I think, not sure), making it less likely to hit than a regular shot (especially on Rookies, who can't aim worth a dang anyway). The advantage it gets that makes up for this is that it always shoots at enemies who are moving, and moving enemies aren't in cover. Since even Low Cover negates 20% of your accuracy, this makes Overwatch pretty much a normal shot against a low cover enemy.

The problem with Overwatch is using it multiple times. Every Soldier in Overwatch fires at the first enemy they see. This means that if a group comes into view, the entire squad will shoot at the first guy, leaving the others alone.

I had this happen on a mission. Two Assault Soldiers on either side of a door, one with a Plasma Rifle, the other with an Alloy Cannon (best shotgun in the game), a Support and a Heavy slightly back from them, and two Squad Sight Snipers way in the back of the room. Two Mutons and a Berserker stroll through the door, and all 6 soldiers fire on the first Muton. Either of the Sniper shots would have killed him, and it's a Sniper shot that kills him, and counts as hitting first. This means the others count as "misses" and are essentially wasted shots.

Of course, it's frelling hilarious to watch a Muton stroll into the room and get cremated by 5 plasma bolts and a cloud of shrapnel before he can even blink, and since aliens can't attack if they discover you on their turn until the next turn, there was no harm done (except to the ship around him). But, still, keep in mind that you won't be able to decide who to fire at, or hold an Overwatch shot if it's not needed.



The other ability I used was Hunker Down. This ability doubles your Cover Bonus. Low Cover provides 20% evasion. With Hunker Down, it provides 40%. High Cover provides 40% evasion, so it goes up to 80%. It also makes a soldier immune to critical hits. This is a huge survival tool, and you should not be afraid to use it.

It's "cost" is that it cuts your soldier's Line of Sight to practically nothing (hence my comments on Jiro not noticing there was a battle going on around him), but, in practice, this only has a very minor effect. See, Hunker Down only lasts one turn. If you haven't discovered any aliens, they can't shoot on you their first turn, they have to break up and find cover. So if you haven't seen any enemies when you Hunker Down, well, they won't attack you before you get your sight radius back. On the other hand, if you have seen enemies, you already know where they are. Sure, they can attack you, but you already know where they're coming from, and they can only move so far. So you won't get shot without some idea who is shooting at you and from where.

The important thing about it is that it prevents you from abusing Squad Sight. You can't move a Soldier up as a spotter for your Sniper and Hunker him down without massively cutting down on his visibility, which cuts who your Sniper can see with Squad Sight. Otherwise, Hunkered Down spotters would be pretty much the most effective tactic in the game, as high level Snipers are deadly.



BoB, I don't think there's a "too short" nickname, so BoB should be good. I'll go ahead and make you a survival based Assault Trooper. Awesome little bundles, and absolutely death when they go up against Cryssalids. Close Combat Specialist just shreds the bugs.

[Slothy]

The important thing about it is that it prevents you from abusing Squad Sight. You can't move a Soldier up as a spotter for your Sniper and Hunker him down without massively cutting down on his visibility, which cuts who your Sniper can see with Squad Sight. Otherwise, Hunkered Down spotters would be pretty much the most effective tactic in the game, as high level Snipers are deadly.

You can just move someone up though, take the shot with the sniper, then have that person hunker down. You don't have to do a soldiers two actions back to back. You can switch to other characters and still go back to them later.

[Skyblade]

The important thing about it is that it prevents you from abusing Squad Sight. You can't move a Soldier up as a spotter for your Sniper and Hunker him down without massively cutting down on his visibility, which cuts who your Sniper can see with Squad Sight. Otherwise, Hunkered Down spotters would be pretty much the most effective tactic in the game, as high level Snipers are deadly.

You can just move someone up though, take the shot with the sniper, then have that person hunker down. You don't have to do a soldiers two actions back to back. You can switch to other characters and still go back to them later.

True. In that case, hmm, I'm not sure what the downside is. Maybe to prevent Squad Sight Overwatch? Yeah, not really sure.

[Skyblade]

Second Mission Completed

-Mission Summary-

This mission was the recover the remains of the first alien ship our forces shot down. We tracked its location (which I forgot to make a note of, like an idiot).

Our Support Soldier, Connor MacLeod, was taking the left flank of our forces. As we progressed towards the landed craft, Psy Chotic heard noises and our forces began to regroup and cling to cover more readily.

Unfortunately, the crash of the alien vessel had ignited a good deal of the underbrush, and Connor MacLeod's choice of cover was limited. As he moved forward, he encountered four Sectoids, all of whom fell back, but were now aware of our location. He pulled in to the only cover availible, a broken rock behind a tree (which meant he only got the low cover from the rock, rather than the tree's high cover). The Sectoids descended upon the group, but their assault lacked teeth.

The first Sectoid to show its face caught a hail of machinegun fire from Psy Chotic, again showing his mastery of the heavy weapons. Anxious to make up for bringing this assault upon his friends, Connor MacLeod drilled a second Sectoid between the eyes. Jiro's unwieldy Sniper Rifle, however, meant that he could not take out a third Sectoid. As he got into position, the attack renewed.

Both shots hit poor Connor MacLeod, and he began to bleed out in the grass. His Immortal tenacity gave the squad time to revive him, except that he was the one carrying the medpack.

With only a few moments to end the fight before their friend expired, our brave soldiers charged the enemy. Jiro, having set up during the last turn, finally got to shine with a beautiful shot into the precious brain of the evil grey menace that had downed his fellow warrior.

The last Sectoid wasn't sticking around to die, however, and fell back to its ship. Ah, the ship. Finally, our forces had found the prize they went in to the mission seeking. And, lo and behold, while its flight computers were damaged, its power core was fully intact. The things our scientists could dream up with that, if only we could secure it!

However, as Psy Chotic approached the craft, a strange crystal floated off the ground and grew a suit of armor around it, creating a new enemy for our forces to fight. This Outsider who dared to intrude upon our battle would not last long however. Psy Chotic tore into it with a hail of gunfire, ripping apart its fragile shell. Not, however, fast enough. While dealing with this new threat, Squaddie MacLeod finally gave up, and moved to the Highlands in the sky.

Enraged by this, Jiro Stark lined up a shot that sent that last, cowardly Sectoid packing, and secured the UFO for our teams.


Rest In Peace, Squaddie Connor MacLeod.
2 Kills, 2 Missions.
Fell in Operation Demon God.
May the bagpipes ever play on in memorial (and, they do, go view the memorial for a while).

So, our first death, a victim of a single bad choice, and a lot of bad terrain.

All three survivors levelled up. If you're wondering why Balls MacGuyver didn't show up, well, he didn't contribute much. The only shot he had which hit only did 2 damage, not enough to kill the Sectoid. And, when he got his promotion, he became another Sniper, not the Assault we were looking for. With no other Sniper on the list, I basically wrote him out of the mission, and he'll be replaced with another Rookie for the next mission. He's also the only wounded survivor, and is out for 7 days anyway, so he won't get back until Ronnie Coleman returns.


Psy, you levelled up. You are now a Corporal, and can choose between Holo-Targeting and Bullet Swarm.

Holo-Targeting: Any enemy you attack or suppress is marked until the end of the turn. All allies firing on that enemy have an additional 10% chance to hit. This marking succeeds even if your attack misses.

Bullet Swarm: Firing the primary weapon no longer ends your turn. So you can fire and move, or fire and then fire again (as long as you have the ammo), instead of just moving and firing, or firing once and then being done.



Jiro, you levelled as well. Squad Sight or Snap Shot.

Squad Sight: You can fire on any enemy your teammates can see, provided nothing blocks your line of sight.

Snap Shot: You can shoot after moving, however, your shots will be 20% less likely to hit.



So, yay, first real death, could have been avoided if it wasn't the medic, and if I'd reacted better to the fire that blocked the terrain. RIP, Connor MacLeod. Until you are born again into immortality, when your turn comes up again.

[Jiro]

I think Snap Shot is probably the most useful. Snipers have wicked sight anyway, so if I can't see the enemy then there's not a good chance I'd be able to hit it anyway.

I love that I'm a beast in this game. Totally got your backs, guys.

Sucks that MacLeod went down in battle. He'll be sorely missed I look forward to our full squad being able to go into battle though, that'll be wicked.

Also I think your updates are perfect Skyblade, keep them up!

[Skyblade]

Alrighty, I've been waiting to see if Psy would choose his perks, but it's draggin things too much. I'll either replace him or just go on without levelling him up.

Jiro, just so you know, I happen to think that you avoided one of the best abilities in the game. Squad Sight is awesome. I happen to think that Snap Shot is fairly useless. First, Snipers don't have better sight radius than anyone else, so you aren't going to have nearly the range you would have with Squad Sight. Second, Sniper Rifles already suffer an Aim penalty as you get close to your enemies, so shooting at things in close range or moving to flank them hurts you just as much as it helps you. And, third, you get a minus 20% Aim on your shots. While Snipers do have the highest Aim of any class (largely so that they can hit enemies in cover without having to move), this is a fairly hefty knock off of that.

But, hey, that's what makes this sort of thing fun. You chose something I would never have picked, and now we'll get to see how it operates. Maybe I'll end up loving it. Either way, I'll put you to the best use I can.

Sorry for the delay, I'll try to get the next one within 24 hours, but work schedule is very busy this week, so no guarantees.

[Jiro]

I've been using Snap Shot exclusively myself, maybe I should give Squad Sight a chance!

[Loony BoB]

Yeah, Squad Sight is pretty epic.

Skyblade, don't replace Psy, just make decisions for him if he doesn't reply in time. I think you should just post the complete trees and let people pick what they want in advance should they be promoted.

Also, now that I have played the game and understand the classes, if I do enter the fray, I'd like to be an Assault dude with as high health as possible. I think it suits my general playing style from other games, being a tank that leads the line in a fairly direct manner. =]

[Skyblade]

Yeah, Squad Sight is pretty epic.

Skyblade, don't replace Psy, just make decisions for him if he doesn't reply in time. I think you should just post the complete trees and let people pick what they want in advance should they be promoted.

Also, now that I have played the game and understand the classes, if I do enter the fray, I'd like to be an Assault dude with as high health as possible. I think it suits my general playing style from other games, being a tank that leads the line in a fairly direct manner. =]

I wasn't thinking to replace him completely, just on the next mission or so. I have more interested people than I have spots in my squad, so it wouldn't hurt to train up others, especially since more of you all are going to be hurt and sitting in the infirmary.

[Skyblade]

I've done a couple, trying to get more Rookies promoted up to classes, as well as cycle through all the wounded guys.

-Operation Blind Fear-

The Council asked us to extract a "friend" of theirs who was holed up in Egypt and under attack. Our powerhouse Heavy, Psi Chotic, sat the mission out. Our forces consisted of Jiro Stark, Ronnie Coleman, Vivi 22, and the newly resurrected Connor MacLeod (he was a Rookie, and became a Support, and MacLeod is the only Support on the roster thus far, soo... You just can't keep an Immortal down).

Our forces moved in, looking to secure the target. We encountered a new foe. It seems the Sectoids are not the only enemy assaulting Earth. The new alien seems to be an infiltrator of some type, as it is clearly intended to bear a resemblance to humans.

The "Thin Man", as Ronnie took to calling him, promptly spit a cloud of toxic gas at Ronnie, poisoning him. While Ronnie was busy puking his guts out, Connor MacLeod fired off a few quick rounds that quickly ended the new threat.

Jiro, meanwhile, scouted out a good sniping nest on the nearby bridge. Unfortunately, he alerted a Sectoid to his presence, and was unable to get a decent shot on the small creature, who had quickly run to cover (seriously, 18% chance. Not a fan of Snap Shot so far). The Sectoid decided to sling some plasma around, and managed to land a hit on our illustrious Sniper. Not willing to let some alien punk get the best of him, Jiro steadied his rifle and drilled it one between its eyes.

Ronnie and Connor, meanwhile, were exploring the edge overlooking the road where our target lay. They located the poor man quickly enough, but also found two more Sectoids. Ronnie was in a horrible position, as his shotgun fire was too inaccurate to reach all the way across the road to the alien's high position. Connor had a bit more luck, and managed to wound one of the creatures, though he didn't kill it. The other managed to get a shot in on Connor during Connor's assault however, catching him in the hip.

Mr. Stark came to the rescue, attacking and killing the other Sectoid, not noticing that the wounded one had a bead on him. Sustaining yet more Plasma fire, Jiro was now resorting to limping around the battlefield (1HP left. Lucky, lucky man, Jiro), and Connor finished off the enemy he had left alive before.

Jiro, being in the worst condition, and in the most need of some solid cover, limped towards our target, and told him to get a move on. Ronnie and Connor set in to prepare to fight their way out.

As our target began moving back up toward the Skyranger, more Thin Men leaped out of the darkness and took up positions. One landed above the ledge near Jiro. Sick of aliens shooting at him, he promptly shot it, and resumed cowering behind the truck.

Another Thin Man dropped directly in front of Ronnie, who finally got to show just what a Shotgun was for. Unleashing a hail of lead directly into the body of the frail alien, blowing it into a poison cloud.

End mission results: Some very nice rewards from the Council. 4 Engineers, which let me immediately get to work on the Satellite Uplink needed for more coverage, even before the Workshop was finished, and some more money, which I promptly put to use making sure I'd have Satellites for it. As well as building one S.C.O.P.E.

Jiro got a promotion up to Sergeant.
Ronnie got promoted to Corporal.
And Connor MacLeod got promoted back to Support.

MVP: Oddly enough, Jiro. Despite nearly getting himself killed, he did kill 3 enemies, more than any other.

Sorry that you didn't do much, Vivi. You did get to take a shot, but only a pistol shot, and it didn't kill an enemy. But I'm glad to have another Sniper on the team.

Our next mission: Port Said, Egypt.

-Mission Synopsis- (I didn't grab the name, sorry)

With the results of our last mission, half of our team was down for repairs. Our beloved Jiro Stark, being gravely wounded, was taken out of action for a full 20 days.

So we had to assemble a "B" Squad. Although, their performance was perfection.

Our troops consisted of the brand new Loony BoB, Vivi 22 (while he didn't do much last mission, he was also the only one to come out unscathed), our veteran Psy Chotic, and a Rookie female soldier (I ran out of guys without realizing it, no time to hire more before the mission. Will do so, hopefully we'll get some more male blood in).

This mission took us back. The loading dock we visited was the same one from our second mission. Apparently the Sectoids had not had enough punishment there. And this time, our team knew the terrain, and their own capabilities.

We opened up with a step up to the boxes and set up in cover. We reorganized while staying back for a while, making sure we were properly covering each other. Two Sectoids popped up near the shack to the east. After three Overwatch shots missed, our lovely female Rookie friend finally managed to down the first alien of the mission. Not wanting to tangle with the sheer mass of firepower facing him, the other promptly scuttled out of sight.

Not wanting to rush a clearly spooked and uncomfortable alien, our soldiers reloaded and started playing some Sabaac, until finally the timid little guy got the nerve to poke his head back out, and promptly got it removed from his shoulders by Loony BoB (who did get the kill, but didn't notice Vivi taking a peek at his cards while he was doing so).

Hearing some more scuttling up north, our soldiers all reloaded and started to move forward. It was our veteran Psy who finally spotted the enemies. Two groups of two Sectoids. Four of the nasty little buggers, all spotted at once.

Psy was not impressed. Before the enemy could even think of attacking, he unloaded with his LMG and eliminated the first target. Not to be outdone, our female friend ran up behind a few barrels and eliminated another one.

With their numbers thus reduced, and no nearby cover, Loony BoB decided to be enterprising. Rushing up the loading ramp, he stopped under cover and waited. The two remaining Sectoids Mind Merged (one Sectoid can use his turn to buff another, giving it increased Crit, Will, and Health for the rest of the turn. If the unit performing the Merge dies, both units die), and the one performing the merge was, unfortunately, well back out of line of sight, while the merged Sectoid rushed forward and took a shot that missed wildly, hitting the side of the loading ramp and doing nothing.

Not one to miss a target of opportunity, however, Vivi 22 took a shot, and hit, but didn't kill the target, thanks to its buffed Health. Psy, however, was more than willing to steal a kill from his friend (especially since he did notice Vivi peeking at BoB's cards earlier), and finished the foe off. The last, lonely Sectoid moved forward behind some crates beside the wall of the loading dock, and faced off against our team. Both our lady friend and Psy took shots on the enemy, but both missed. It was then, however, that Loony BoB decided to play "Peek a Boo", poking his head over the edge and firing a stream of bullets straight down into the utterly unsuspecting Sectoid.

The mission completed, our team finished up their game, which Psy won, and headed back to base.

Mission Results: More engineers (I would have preferred money at this point, but panic suppression takes precedence). No wounded or dead soldiers.

And promotions all around! Psy is now our first Sergeant, and has two promotions waiting.

Vivi 22 is now a Corporal, and with his new promotion, can hopefully end his bad luck of 4 missions with no kills.

Loony BoB is now an Assault Soldier with Run and Gun. I will be equipping him back with a rifle shortly, as I don't want too many shotguns, and he's going survival spec.

And our lady friend is also an Assault Soldier. I'll be speccing her if no one picks her up.



MVP: Loony BoB. His final rush up the ramp to put a bullet in the alien's head from above was such a perfect end to the mission. Though, with 3 soldiers who each got 2 kills, it was really, really close.





Eyes on XCOM Team thus far:

Sergeant Jiro "The Wish" Stark
Sergeant Psy "Psychotic" Chotic
Corporal Ronnie Coleman
Corporal Vivi 22
Squaddie Loony BoB
Squaddie Connor MacLeod


Promotions to be doled out:

Psy: You get to pick Heavy promotions for both Corporal and Sergeant level.
Jiro: You get to pick a Sniper Sergeant level promotion.
DK (Ronnie): You get to pick Assault Corporal level promotions.
Vivi: You get to pick Sniper Corporal level promotions.

MILF, I'm sorry I haven't gotten to you yet, but I haven't had another Heavy come up. As soon as I do, you'll be in, promise.

Perk trees (click to show for your class):
Heavy
Squaddie (no choice):
- Rocket Launcher: You get the ability to fire a rocket that does 8 damage to all enemies within its range. Can be later replaced by the more powerful Blaster Launcher. Only one use per mission.

Corporal:
- Bullet Swarm: You get to fire as your first action without ending your turn, letting you fire and move, or fire twice without moving.
- Holo Targeting: Your shots and Suppression put a debuff on the target (even if the shot misses) that increases the chance of all other squaddies hitting that target this turn by 10%.

Sergeant:
- Shredder Rocket: You get a second rocket. This one does less damage, but debuffs all enemies it hits to take 33% extra damage for the next 4 turns. Only one Shredder Rocket per mission.
- Suppression: You gain the ability to suppress a target, reducing their accuracy by 30% during their turn, and getting a free shot on them if they move.

Lieutenant
- HEAT Ammo: You do double damage against robotic units, such as Cyberdiscs and Sectopods.
- Rapid Reaction: You can shoot twice while on Overwatch, as long as your first shot hits.

Captain:
- Grenadier: You can now carry 2 Grenades instead of just one.
- Danger Zone: All of your AOE attacks (rockets and grenades) get their radius increased by 2 tiles. Also makes Suppression a 2 tile AOE attack, if you picked it up earlier.

Major (no choice):
- Will to Survive: All damage taken (except fire and poison) is reduced by 2 as long as you are in cover and not flanked.

Colonel:
- Rocketeer: You get a second normal rocket (doesn't apply to Shredder Rockets, you only get a normal rocket).
- Mayhem: Applies extra damage to Suppression and all AOE powers dependent on the strength of your currently equipped weapon. Base weapons add +1, Lasers add +2, and Plasma/Blaster Bombs add +3. This lets Suppression deal damage even if the enemy doesn't move, and since Suppression itself doesn't miss (even if "Missed" shows up, the suppression and Mayhem damage always apply, even if the reaction shot it grants misses later), it is guaranteed damage on the enemy.
Assault
Squaddie (no choice):
Run & Gun: You can Dash (move twice as far) and still fire your weapon in the same turn. You cannot Dash and use items though. 2 turn cooldown.

Corporal:
- Tactical Sense: You gain +5 Defense (dodge chance) for every enemy you can see, up to a max of +20.
- Aggression: You gain +10% Crit chance for every enemy you can see, up to a max of +30%.

Sergeant:
- Lightning Reflexes: The first reaction shot (enemy Overwatch shot) made against you each turn automatically misses.
- Close and Personal: You gain +30% Crit chance against adjacent enemies, chance boost goes down the further you get from your target.

Lieutenant:
- Flush: A shot with a high chance to hit that forces enemies to move, flushing them out of cover (and, frequently, back out of line of sight). No cooldown, but does half damage.
- Rapid Fire: Take two shots at a single target. Each shot has a 15% penalty to accuracy. 2 turn cooldown.

Captain:
- Close Combat Specialist: Shoot at anything that moves within 4 tiles of you. You don't have to be in Overwatch (Overwatch will just get you an extra shot), and can shoot once at everything that moves that close to you per turn, as long as your weapon has ammo.
- Bring 'Em On: +1 damage to critical hits for every enemy your squad can see, up to a maximum of +5 critical damage.

Major (no choice):
- Extra Conditioning: You get extra health for wearing armor. The heavier the armor, the more health. +1 health for basic armor, +2 for light armors, +4 for heavy armors.

Colonel:
- Resilience: Passive immunity to critical hits.
- Killer Instinct: On a turn you activate Run & Gun, you also get +50% damage on critical hits.
Sniper
Squaddie (no choice):
- Headshot: +30% critical chance, increased critical damage depending on Sniper's level (base +2, +3 for Lieutenants and up, and +4 for Colonels).

Corporal:
- Snap Shot: You can move and shoot in the same turn, but you lose 20% accuracy when you do so.
- Squad Sight: You can shoot at anything your team can see, as long as you have unobstructed line of sight (can't shoot through walls).

Sergeant:
- Gunslinger: You do +2 damage with pistols.
- Damn Good Ground: You get +10 Aim and +10 Defense (dodge chance) to all enemies lower than you, in addition to regular height bonuses.

Lieutenant:
- Disabling Shot: Fires a shot which disables the target's weapon, forcing them to take a turn to reload to fix it. This shot cannot critical, has a -10% chance to hit, and has a 2 turn cooldown.
- Battle Scanner: Throw a scanning device that grants visibility of an area for 2 turns. Can allow the use of Squad Sight shots, does not alert enemies. 2 Battle Scanners per mission.

Captain:
- Executioner: +10 Aim to all targets with less than half health.
- Opportunist: Removes the Aim penalty on Overwatch shots, and your Overwatch shots can now be critical hits.

Major (no choice):
- Low Profile: Half cover becomes full cover for you.

Colonel:
- In the Zone: Killing an enemy that either you are flanking, or that is not in cover, does not take a move, allowing you to continue to fire as long as you can keep this up.
- Double tap: Every other turn you can fire twice, as long as you don't move first.
Support
Squaddie (no choice):
- Smoke Grenade: Throw a smoke grenade, granting +20 evasion to all units in the smoke. Only 1 per mission.

Corporal:
- Sprinter: Move 3 extra tiles each move.
- Covering Fire: Overwatch shots will now be taken at enemies who take shots, instead of just enemies who move.

Sergeant:
- Field Medic: You can use Medkits 3 times a mission, instead of just once.
- Smoke and Mirrors: You can carry an extra Smoke Grenade.

Lieutenant:
- Revive: You can bring back a critically wounded soldier with 33% of max health with a medkit, rather than just stabilizing them until the end of the mission (I've tried to avoid this, but I have to say: do not pick this, pick Rifle Suppression, it is waaaay more useful).
- Rifle Suppression: You suppress an enemy, reducing their accuracy by 30% for the rest of the turn, and getting a free shot on them if they move.

Captain:
- Dense Smoke: Smoke Grenades now provide +40 Defense, rather than +20.
- Combat Drugs: Smoke Grenades now add +20 Will and +10 Crit chance, in addition to the original +20 Defense.

Major (no choice):
- Deep Pockets: You can carry two items into battle, instead of just one.

Colonel:
- Savior: Medkits heal for 4 extra health.
- Sentinel: You get 2 Overwatch shots, instead of just one.

Feel free to post your entire spec, if you want. I think I'll try to keep up multiple missions per update, as long as the squad can keep trained, by switching guys out. At least until I can get a 6 man squad. Sorry it took so long!

[Elite Lord Sigma]

The current color is just fine for me. Anyway, I'm ashamed to admit that due to real life getting in the way as usual, I haven't actually played this game yet.

Anyway, as for my perks, I think I'll go with:
Corporal: Covering Fire (Having additional chances to take out enemies is more useful than being able to move a few extra spaces. I'll leave that to the Assaults.)
Sergeant: Field Medic (Considering how much Jiro is getting beaten up, we're going to need these.)
Lieutenant: Rifle Suppression (You said Revive was useless in comparison, anyway.)
Captain: Dense Smoke (After all, preventative care in time saves lives.)
Major: Deep Pockets (This is my only option.)
Colonel: Saviour (Well, thinking about what BoB said now, I realize that by the time I reach Colonel, chances are I'll have squadmates that can make use of the extra healing. Getting an extra Overwatch shot is good enough.)

If anybody thinks I haven't considered something important, please speak up.

[Loony BoB]

Corporal: Tactical Sense
Sergeant: Lightning Reflexes
Lieutenant: Rapid Fire
Captain: Close Combat Specialist
Major (no choice): Extra Conditioning
Colonel: Resilience

Sigma: Personally for Support I would take Saviour over Sentinel, given that Support players are usually in a squad almost purely because they can heal other players. Oversights often miss anyway.

[Elite Lord Sigma]

Sigma: Personally for Support I would take Saviour over Sentinel, given that Support players are usually in a squad almost purely because they can heal other players. Oversights often miss anyway.

OK, then. I changed it accordingly. How much do medikits heal normally, anyway?

[Slothy]

Corporal: Squad Sight
Sergeant: Damn Good Ground
Lieutenant: Battle Scanner
Captain: Executioner
Major: Low Profile
Colonel: Double tap

I've yet to try giving anyone in the zone, but I'll take two guaranteed shots over maybe getting better than one if I'm lucky on a sniper that isn't trying to be more mobile.

[DK]

Hahaha all the fun stuff happens to Ronnie. gets burned half to buggery and then gets poisoned. STILL GOING STRONG THOUGH, aw jeah. I look forward to seeing what unfortunate mishap will befall him next. Space leprosy I imagine. Also, for my promotions thingies give me all the same as Lonny BoB except Killer Instinct at Colonel, if Ronnie makes it that far.