While the Sword is an extremely strong early game weapon and benefits from having no accuracy roll (meaning attacks are overwhelmingly likely to hit most targets with few exceptions), the shotgun scales with flanking and other benefits like weapon upgrades (which are only available to ranged weapons unless you are sporting certain game mods). Overall, as a major damage source for the squad, it is preferable to get the Ranger in as much combat as possible rather than worrying about maintaining their concealment, so Blademaster over Phantom is a general rule here.

This choice is a simple matter of whether you are regularly fielding another unit for scout purposes. The first point to note in building a Ranger is your preference between Phantom and Blademaster. That said, a Ranger’s scout abilities can prove to be valuable and greatly alter the pace of combat and your battlefield awareness. With the introduction of the Reaper class in WotC, the Ranger has effectively alleviated of the necessary role of a scout, freeing them up to focus on their true calling: a rapid maelstrom of damage. Videos serve as a general idea, but you will notice I sometimes differ from the choices made there based on my own experiences. For the sake of continuity, all classes will be addressed as they appear with the War of the Chosen and other DLCs in mind. That said, we’ll be delving into how to utilize each Class to ensure your soldiers will remain healthy while the enemy is left wondering what hit them. WotC offers several challenges that make this ideal extremely difficult, but the premise stands: you don’t want your enemy to take any actions if you can help it.

I’ll start by saying that XCOM 2 leans heavily into offense rather than defense in which you are aiming to eliminate as much of the enemy as possible before they have the chance to retaliate. While there is plenty of wiggle room for building your soldiers however you so feel, there is certainly the ideal way to have your squad function and an ideal place and role for every class to fill. X-COM as a series is grounded in preparation and squad management, knowing your abilities, and planning for the enemy’s actions ahead of time.

Xcom 2 remove weapon upgrades