Few games can get as intense as an ironman run of XCOM. This turn-based strategy game is all about fighting aliens with personalized soldiers in strategic combat. Unique classes exist that grant unique abilities to even the odds.
Overall, XCOM 2 and the War of the Chosen expansion are well balanced when it comes to class viability. Nearly every class in the game offers a unique playstyle that makes certain situations less punishing or even favorable. From hacking giant mechs to blowing up entire buildings, here are all of the classes in XCOM 2 ranked from worst to best.
Updated March 8th, 2021 by Gene Cole: While this list originally gave a very detailed list of the best and worst classes for higher-level players, many new players might find that the best strategies are too complicated and difficult to use. In a game like XCOM 2, the strongest characters can often be the simplest, here's a little refresh to help both new and expert players of XCOM 2 make an overpowered strike team.
9 SPARK
Added in the "Shen's Last Gift" DLC, SPARKs are a return to the mechanized soldiers that players could make in XCOM: Enemy Within. Rather than just new weapons, this ends up providing them with a totally new moveset to make them fill all sorts of roles in your team, but they don't end up being nearly as consistent as most players would hope.
While MECs were arguably the strongest class in Enemy Within, their pseudo-return in XCOM 2 leaves a lot to be desired. Their melee lacks the impact of Templars or Rangers, their utility is easily beat by Specialists, and their damage output can be surpassed by nearly every class. Their versatility might seem valuable, but given the cost in adding SPARKs to your team, it's essentially a worthless expense.
8 Skirmisher
One of the three hero classes added in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, the Skirmisher class consists of defective ADVENT soldiers that are hellbent to take revenge. These characters have some melee damage and low-ammo weapons, making them a seemingly upgraded version of your close-range Rangers.
Unlike most other classes, Skirmishers thrive off of mobility thanks to their close weapons and grappling hook. The problem, though, is that very few levels let you utilize this skill early in the game, and with the constant restarts that come with an XCOM 2 run, this means it'll be mostly useless for a lot of your games.
7 Ranger
Rangers are close-ranged specialists that rely on swords and shotguns to take down any foe. They fulfill an incredibly vital role regardless of your team, but at the same time there's something to be said for the variance that this class can have without any mods to guarantee their accuracy at close range.
There'll always be some luck involved in an XCOM game, but many attacks will just miss when you most need them and your Ranger can often just end up killed if any move fails. As a result, they can be extremely risky without a whole lot of extra upgrades and attention put on them.
6 Psy-Operatives
Psionics are incredibly powerful in XCOM. These mentally-draining abilities can let you mind control enemies or cause enemies near you to cower in fear, and end up providing you with a large variety of abilities that could seem overpowered later in the game.
Or at least, that's what you'd hope for. The Psy-Operatives cost a huge amount of your resources, and very few of their abilities end up working against certain opponents. If you can take the time building it up, it'll often be quite helpful and will definitely appear as an all-star, but for the most part these classes aren't exactly vital necessities for your team.
5 Templar
The special Templar units that come from War of the Chosen are quite similar to the Psy-operatives, but the major benefit is that they're significantly lower cost compared to the normal psychic soldiers. You can get one of these near the beginning of the game, with tons of abilities alongside some great close-range melee attacks.
Many of these abilities are also far more reliable than the Psy-Operative suite early on, and this can make them far more worthwhile to train and invest in. Psy-Operatives were often considered overpowered in the original XCOM 2, but new and old players can save tons of time by just filling that role with a Templar instead.
4 Specialist
Many would consider Specialists to be lackluster, considering they have few damaging abilities to match the likes of Rangers of Sharpshooters. However, they exist to provide support for your team through healing effects and stat buffs, something that you'll almost always need despite being slightly unexciting.
This isn't to say they can't have some great offensive builds, particularly if you enjoy using their Hacking abilities and want to make any robot opponent's day a nightmare. Just because they have versatility, though, doesn't mean you'll be as overwhelmed by their abilities like your offensive classes.
3 Sharpshooter
Sharpshooters can be played as gunslingers, masters of pistols and quick aim. This is an underrated option for many players, as it can give you a great way to deal with low-health enemy swarms like the Lost in the zombie horde levels of the expansion pack.
However, just like in Enemy Unknown, Sharpshooters in XCOM 2 are built with a singular purpose: kill everything on your screen. Snipers get this done with high-damage sniper rifles that are deadly accurate, and their inherent Squadsight ability means you can often do this without putting them in danger. Not only are they deadly, but you can put them in places where they're almost always unable to be killed.
2 Grenadier
Grenades are some of the best items to use early on in XCOM 2. They cover a reasonable radius, destroy cover, armor, and deal guaranteed damage, and Grenadiers maximize on these skills by having tons of additional range and ammo for these vital pieces of weaponry.
This isn't even mentioning their powerful miniguns and additional late-game tools, making them incredibly powerful after already being all-star teammates. You don't want to ever rely on them too hard since they can destroy loot when you need it most, but most beginner players should never feel bad about relying on Grenadiers to carry their team early on.
1 Reaper
One of the first characters players will earn in War of the Chosen, Reapers are a stealth variant of Sharpshooters that are focused on dealing large amounts of damage from the shadows. More than that, their unique stealth mechanic allows them to sneak through groups of enemies with ease, lining up the perfect shot from a great vantage point.
Their power only continues as you get into their special equipment. Claymores are also at their disposal to take out cover and weaker enemies, while their Banish ability allows them to empty their entire magazine into an enemy. There is virtually no reason to not have a Reaper in your party, as they do everything a Sniper does with significantly more power in their unique activated abilities.