The Sniper Class is a soldier class in XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
The primary role of the Sniper Class is providing long range standoff, force multiplier and supporting Overwatch against enemy units. Their ability to precisely place a round where needed greatly enhances the survivability of the squad, reduces collateral damage, and increases mission success.
XCOM Database[]
| “ | Specialized in dealing large amounts of damage from extreme range, the Sniper is an invaluable resource for both scouting and surgical elimination of enemy units. Please note: Snipers are not suited for close-quarters combat without supplemental training. | ” |
–XCOM Database, XCOM: Enemy Unknown | ||
Tactical Description[]
- Main article: Sniper Class (XCOM: Enemy Unknown)/Guides
The primary role of the Sniper Class is to devote special attention to the military coup d'œil, to quickly kill high-valued targets, and to dispose of retreating or flanking hostile elements. Every "kill confirmed" alien directly translates into one less -dead- XCOM soldier. The unique characteristic of the class is the focus on long range combat: unlike other weapons, sniper rifles have greater accuracy at long distance, and suffer reduced accuracy (up to 25%) at close and mid range.
Available abilities allow snipers to develop into two general types — Recon and Overwatch.
Recon is optimized for "high-variance missions" involving rapid movement and close-quarters combat (such as UFO and Target Extraction). Overwatch excels at "low-variance missions" involving open terrain, choke points and "sniper nests" (such as Alien Abductions and the Alien Base).
Weapons[]
The Sniper class can be equipped with sniper rifles and pistols. They tend to rely on their pistols as backup weapons more often than any other class, so they should be the first to receive upgraded pistols.
Sniper Rifles[]
| Weapon | Base Damage | Crit Damage | Crit Chance | Range |
 Sniper Rifle
|
3 - 5 | 6 - 8 | 25% | Long |
 Laser Sniper Rifle
|
5 - 7 | 9 - 11 | 30% | Long |
 Plasma Sniper Rifle
|
8 - 10 | 14 - 16 | 35% | Long |
- Ammo Conservation: Increase ammo capacity by 100%.
Pistols[]
| Weapon | Base Damage | Crit Damage | Crit Chance | Range |
 Pistol
|
1 - 2 | 2 - 4 | 0% | Medium |
 Laser Pistol
|
1 - 3 | 3 - 5 | 10% | Medium |
 Plasma Pistol
|
2 - 4 | 5 - 7 | 0% | Medium |
Class Abilities[]
When a soldier is promoted, certain ranks allow the player to choose one of two abilities for the soldier.
| Rank | Abilities | Description |
|---|---|---|
 Squaddie |
 Headshot
|
Fire a shot with +30% critical chance and extra damage on critical hits, based on the tech level of the sniper rifle. 2 turn cool down. |
 Corporal |
 Snap Shot
|
Removes the sniper rifle's restriction on firing and Overwatch after moving. Any shots taken suffer a -20 Aim (-10 Aim in XCOM: Enemy Within) penalty. |
 Squadsight
|
Allows firing at targets in an ally's sight radius. (In XCOM: Enemy Within, these targets cannot be critically hit unless using Headshot.) | |
 Sergeant |
 Gunslinger
|
Confers 2 bonus damage with pistols. |
 Damn Good Ground
|
Confers +10 Aim and +10 Defense against enemies at lower elevation, in addition to the usual elevation bonuses. | |
 Lieutenant |
 Disabling Shot
|
Allows the Sniper to fire a shot that causes the target's main weapon to malfunction. The target may use Reload to fix the weapon. The shot cannot inflict a critical hit. 2 turn cooldown. |
 Battle Scanner
|
Scanning device that, when thrown, creates a new source of vision for 2 turns. Can only be used 2 times per battle. | |
 Captain |
 Executioner
|
Confers +10 Aim against targets with less than 50% health. |
 Opportunist
|
Eliminates the Aim penalty on reaction shots, and allows reaction shots to cause critical hits. | |
 Major |
 Low Profile
|
Makes partial cover count as full. |
 Colonel |
 In The Zone
|
Killing a flanked or uncovered target with the sniper rifle does not cost an action. |
 Double Tap
|
Allows both actions to be used for Standard Shot, Headshot, or Disabling Shot, provided no moves were made. The second shot must be taken immediately after the first. 1 turn cooldown. |
Second Wave[]
Hidden Potential : 3-9 Aim per level for Sniper
Training Roulette: Each soldier's training tree is mostly randomly generated.
Only Sniper : Headshot (LV1), Snap Shot (LV2), Squadsight (LV2), Disable Shot (LV4)
Indep : Gunslinger (LV3) , Damn Good Ground (LV3), Battle Scanner (LV4), Executioner (LV5), Opportunist (LV5), Low Profile (LV6)
Notes[]
- Snap Shot and Double Tap - If a Sniper acquires both of these abilities, then the second shot from Double Tap will be affected by Snap Shot movement penalty.
- Overwatch - After moving, a Sniper without Snap Shot can only Overwatch with a pistol. After selecting Overwatch, the Sniper may switch back to a sniper rifle and reaction fire animation will be performed with the rifle, despite the fact that Overwatch with a rifle is not possible. This requires at least one of your other soldiers to have an unused action. (Tested on XCOM: Enemy Within and XCOM: Enemy Unknown single player)
- With Second Wave options Not Created Equal and Hidden Potential active, A Sniper can have as high as 143 base aim at Colonel rank. High enough to hit most enemies in full cover with 100% accuracy with a standard shot or headshot, or all enemies if the Sniper has Height Advantage.
