i kinda ignored the TIER 3 health perks - "Calm under fire" only carries 3 ap over and 15 grit max. - "Battle focus" is only 2 ap on the first hit, so it only triggers once for the whole combat /encounter TIER 1 Health i took - "Full body contact" gives u already 15 grit per melee hit, so u max that out all the time. (the max grit u can get atm ingame is capped at 30 at turn end, doesnt matter how many skills trigger) TIER 1 Agility u need ofc - "Hit and Run" for Free movement i highly recommend using a Light Armor build and take - "Fast Runner" so u get juicy extra Free AP movement *optional - "Frogleaping" (if u start/end your turn in any cover for extra AP. Allows u to somehow make this build work with some AIM Mercs, for example Blood [1 AP Throw Knive rocks], Shadow for some sneaky boy action or Nails) TIER 1 Dexteriy - "Opportunistic Killer" dont take this. interrupt attacks can crit with this perk, maybe if u use a shotgun hybrid. otherwise dont. why? "True Strike" which I used instead turns all Melee to 100% crit + marked. better usage of your points *EDIT TIER 1 Strength - "Breach and Clear" u can equip an Auto 5 Shotgun with barrel mod for 3 AP Shoot and increased Range. depending on ammo u adjust your range/attack cone with that. With this u can use all your free movement, if u still arent close enough u use the shotgun or throw a grenade for refilled free movement. Blood is an execption and u must take this because he has "Throwing" Perk (extended throwing range and reduced AP cost for Grenade and Knife Throws) - "Killing Spree" must have for all Melee Build variations TIER 2 Strength - "Sudden Strike" just incase u also have a hand to hand user that counters u otherwise in melee. removes overwatch Now here is the big difference from this build which in my opinion is just more stable in dmg/crit/free movement TIER 3 Strength - "True Strike" Melee Attacks are always crits and add marked status (just incase) (compared to Shock Assault u get full crit instead 30%) - "Line Breaker" Point Blank kills (which are all our melee or eventually shotgun kills if done right) give u "Inspired" once every Turn for that Free 4 AP As u can see the Heatlh Route sucks ass. Melee hits always more than once, if not u doing something wrong - this caps your Grit fine every turn/mid fight to 30 so getting "Calm under Fire" with its transfer 3 AP to next Turn + get 5 Grit for it is a waste. 3 AP u dont use that turn for attacking is wasted. "Battle Focus" gives once per battle 2 AP? now compare that to getting 4 AP from Inspired instead each turn + Fast Runner for free Movement
@@lobonocturno420the free movement after melee and not using a shotgun is what separates a templar from a ranger in XCOM2. Rangers as ambush troops and scouts goes hard - shotguns rip apart ayylmaos.
Nice build, but i don't think it's only one from OP department. I can give you another idea to try. I had finished the game reciently with LMG commando build IMP. Core perks - heavy weapons & rambo (one from grizzly merc). Progression with agility and dex trees, including: anatomical precision, deadeye, sharpshooter, lighning rexflexes, full concentration, crossfire, killer, frogleaping. For defense you use full deathsquad armor suit from refuge camp shaman. Early game use stealth kill sniper tactics to level up and level up shooting and agility to the max. Once you find Minimi LMG, that is where all fun stuff begins. Note that deathsquad armor and Minimi do not hamper your free movement, so you are still very mobile. Mod Minimi for accuaracy and for reduced AP cost for firing. With traits i mentioned above your can hip fire MG attack for whopping 2AP and won't have any accuracy malus due to rambo perk. Just run around and run & gun everything to oblivion. Combine that with AP ammo and even military/commando guys on mission imposible won't survive single 2 AP burst from from your LMG. You are also pretty capable in long range combat as well using sniper rifle, LMG covers close and medium range and handles crowds of enemies if needed. I suggest you try this out sometime, carves through enemies faster than chainsaw! 2 AP for deadly accuarate and devastating LMG burst from Minimi gun is just crazy! Melee build with 3 AP per kill and constant free move is nice, but LMG commando while not being so crazy in movement can be even more deadly. I suggest you to give it a try some time, got Lone Wolf achievement using it.
@Alex-vr7mm Nice idea, but since Vanilla can't have unique skills in IMP I assume you used mods? I tried with Grizzly, but he can never mod weapons and has terrible dexterity which makes some of his base skills absolutely useless and he is a pain in the ass mid-game. So I assume you did some mods to create an IMP with the Grizzly special skill? Also where would you get all the ammo to have ~half of the enemies killed with LMGs?
For *Lone Wolf* finished the campaign while having no more than one hired merc at the same time. This achievement can be achieved with *Dynamic Duo* and *Bullet Proof* at the same time. Note: IMP/Larry/Smiley/Flay/Pierre/Spike is counted as merc. So recruit them when you have another merc will *lock* this achievement. Tips: For this achievement, I used stealth build Ivan. I dismiss Ivan for repairing/modifying weapons/armor then recruit him back.
I didnt finished the game on "Lone Wolf" as yet, but will do that coming up, then for also go for the "Dynamic Duo"🏆 in the same run, will load the final and hire 1 more merc. BTW did you got the "Time Is Money" trophy 🏆? If yes whats your advised route ? Cause you need to finish it asap before 1/ May / 2001@@sirbowen4358
I think, this is way too much Grit and you're missing some good strength perks. You can't exceed 30 Grit anyway and both Full Body Contact and Vanguard easily max that _just by themselves_ . So, Calm under Fire will just be wasted mosted of the time. The Strength perks are much more important. Being able to attack without triggering interrupts is very helpful against other enemies with the hand-to-hand perk. Becoming inspired after a point blank attack allows you an additional attack per turn or to move more freely and it's pretty much guaranteed to trigger, because _you_ decide when to attack. I'd take Bulldozer over Battle Focus any day. And then we haven't even talked about True Strike making your melee attack crit 100%.
For agile snipers the best perks are ; Dexterity : Opportunistic Killer, Deadeye, Reactive Fire, Sharpshooter, Killzone Agility : Fast Runner, Frog Leaping, Vantage Point, Total Concentration, Anatomical Precision
finished the game many times. I never used level 2 and 3 health. IMHO not worth it. Instead I focused on agility with the 2 free movement perks and strength perks.
One of the best AIM mercs that can be a real melee killing machine is Shadow. Give him “the thing”, the best melee weapon, and he can kill up to two enemies in one turn in close melee combat, and even having AP left to hide from enemy fire or go into cover.
@@hexxatgamingthx! I noticed without the Melee expert perk unaimed torso attacks are having quite the Miss chance on regular enemy's with 85 dex right now I'm testing out different combinations for reaching builds that don't need 2 perks to shine. ATM it's stealth and learning . Maybe I give close distance a shot next.
Melee build could be a fun challenge, but it's totally pointless given how much easier it is to just use Snipers and Machine Guns to mow down waves of enemies before they even take a shot. Why go up close and risk damage. Best use for melee is as a defensive tactic against enemy rushers in case they get too close.
I noticed melee is OP when you're dealing with certain enemies that have this and reaction,. they can literally wreck you in two turns it's absurd honestly. There's some major balancing that needs to be done on this game. Particularly the fact that armor is negated on melee attacks is imo stupid Also regarding level scaling that happens, either through events or time based, breaks the game imo. I've been taking a break from this game until these things get fixed someway or another
That's exactly how I noticed it too. Those butchers, especially the ones that retaliate every time, haha. Yeah the game isn't perfect, but I had a pretty damn good time so far.
@@hexxatgaming I also HAD a good time until i found these major issues that funnel you into a few of the most viable builds and certain enemies being substantially more dangerous than others it ruins the play through for me.
game is unbalanced some builds are just OP (especially good sniper and good malee), also some weapons, for example sniper guns (like dragunow,m24), granades and heavy automatic rifles (rpk, mg42) are much much stronger than automatic pistols (lke famas) and pistols which are for me just lame but still game is great, maby thay create DLC where thay add more balance:P
@@mrmax7348A lot has happened since, although more in the content department than balancing. I still find SMGs are not super useful from mid game on, but Anaconda pistols are awesome. Enemies running into Meltdown on overwatch with those have a bad day. They are also useful as a backup weapon.
nice video..but str build is better i think..and making a show case against zombies is not realistic..make a case against 5 enemies who hit you in arms, legs and groin and overwatch you every round..the interrupt attack does not come up so often..you need that overwatch cancel..it works for movement as well you need not make an melee attack : Full body contact, vanguard, hit and run, killing spree, sudden strike, breach and clear (ironclad is useless shock assault is useless, if you deathsquad or treated kevlar), true strike, , line breaker, frog leaping
Far away from best melee build - max grid is 30 no need for tier 3 health perks - opportunity killer is useless melee interruption can crit anyways - go with 100% crit - hit and run + more freemove // also the thing is useless take knife with plus dmg less ap and same dmg
The IMP merc has obv no special perk. Therefore it will never be as good as some of the other options. Pointless to center your game around a merc that is stupid enough to accept 7k instead of a weekly pay, lol^^ Even Igor is better than the IMP merc, try to get as much grid as Igor good luck. Only thing IMP merc is good for is cheap 85 leadership in the beginning.
i kinda ignored the TIER 3 health perks
- "Calm under fire" only carries 3 ap over and 15 grit max.
- "Battle focus" is only 2 ap on the first hit, so it only triggers once for the whole combat /encounter
TIER 1 Health i took
- "Full body contact" gives u already 15 grit per melee hit, so u max that out all the time.
(the max grit u can get atm ingame is capped at 30 at turn end, doesnt matter how many skills trigger)
TIER 1 Agility u need ofc
- "Hit and Run" for Free movement
i highly recommend using a Light Armor build and take
- "Fast Runner" so u get juicy extra Free AP movement
*optional
- "Frogleaping" (if u start/end your turn in any cover for extra AP. Allows u to somehow make this build work with some AIM Mercs, for example Blood [1 AP Throw Knive rocks], Shadow for some sneaky boy action or Nails)
TIER 1 Dexteriy
- "Opportunistic Killer" dont take this. interrupt attacks can crit with this perk, maybe if u use a shotgun hybrid.
otherwise dont. why? "True Strike" which I used instead turns all Melee to 100% crit + marked. better usage of your points
*EDIT
TIER 1 Strength
- "Breach and Clear"
u can equip an Auto 5 Shotgun with barrel mod for 3 AP Shoot and increased Range.
depending on ammo u adjust your range/attack cone with that.
With this u can use all your free movement, if u still arent close enough u use the shotgun or throw a grenade for refilled free movement.
Blood is an execption and u must take this because he has "Throwing" Perk (extended throwing range and reduced AP cost for Grenade and Knife Throws)
- "Killing Spree"
must have for all Melee Build variations
TIER 2 Strength
- "Sudden Strike"
just incase u also have a hand to hand user that counters u otherwise in melee. removes overwatch
Now here is the big difference from this build which in my opinion is just more stable in dmg/crit/free movement
TIER 3 Strength
- "True Strike"
Melee Attacks are always crits and add marked status (just incase)
(compared to Shock Assault u get full crit instead 30%)
- "Line Breaker"
Point Blank kills (which are all our melee or eventually shotgun kills if done right)
give u "Inspired" once every Turn for that Free 4 AP
As u can see the Heatlh Route sucks ass.
Melee hits always more than once, if not u doing something wrong
- this caps your Grit fine every turn/mid fight to 30
so getting "Calm under Fire" with its transfer 3 AP to next Turn + get 5 Grit for it is a waste.
3 AP u dont use that turn for attacking is wasted.
"Battle Focus" gives once per battle 2 AP?
now compare that to getting 4 AP from Inspired instead each turn + Fast Runner for free Movement
This is basically the Templar class from Xcom2. Very Op
Actually yeah now that you mention it :)
You mean the rangers, cause the ranger had a blade, i created Isador "Machete" Cortez who slashed lots of aliens off. 💀⚔
@@lobonocturno420the free movement after melee and not using a shotgun is what separates a templar from a ranger in XCOM2. Rangers as ambush troops and scouts goes hard - shotguns rip apart ayylmaos.
Thanks for video!
Amazing guide enjoy watching it!👍
Been looking for build videos
Enjoy! Im working on a marksman build too
Nice build, but i don't think it's only one from OP department. I can give you another idea to try. I had finished the game reciently with LMG commando build IMP. Core perks - heavy weapons & rambo (one from grizzly merc). Progression with agility and dex trees, including: anatomical precision, deadeye, sharpshooter, lighning rexflexes, full concentration, crossfire, killer, frogleaping. For defense you use full deathsquad armor suit from refuge camp shaman. Early game use stealth kill sniper tactics to level up and level up shooting and agility to the max. Once you find Minimi LMG, that is where all fun stuff begins. Note that deathsquad armor and Minimi do not hamper your free movement, so you are still very mobile. Mod Minimi for accuaracy and for reduced AP cost for firing. With traits i mentioned above your can hip fire MG attack for whopping 2AP and won't have any accuracy malus due to rambo perk. Just run around and run & gun everything to oblivion. Combine that with AP ammo and even military/commando guys on mission imposible won't survive single 2 AP burst from from your LMG. You are also pretty capable in long range combat as well using sniper rifle, LMG covers close and medium range and handles crowds of enemies if needed. I suggest you try this out sometime, carves through enemies faster than chainsaw! 2 AP for deadly accuarate and devastating LMG burst from Minimi gun is just crazy! Melee build with 3 AP per kill and constant free move is nice, but LMG commando while not being so crazy in movement can be even more deadly. I suggest you to give it a try some time, got Lone Wolf achievement using it.
Yeah I agree. That's why they are nerfing the LMGs lol
man dat sounds like a lot of fun :D
@Alex-vr7mm Nice idea, but since Vanilla can't have unique skills in IMP I assume you used mods? I tried with Grizzly, but he can never mod weapons and has terrible dexterity which makes some of his base skills absolutely useless and he is a pain in the ass mid-game. So I assume you did some mods to create an IMP with the Grizzly special skill? Also where would you get all the ammo to have ~half of the enemies killed with LMGs?
I will try this new build.
Do free mercs like Larry count against the "Lone Wolf" achievment? I'd like to try an achievment run with this build.
I don't think they count. But not 100% sure yet.
For *Lone Wolf* finished the campaign while having no more than one hired merc at the same time.
This achievement can be achieved with *Dynamic Duo* and *Bullet Proof* at the same time.
Note: IMP/Larry/Smiley/Flay/Pierre/Spike is counted as merc. So recruit them when you have another merc will *lock* this achievement.
Tips: For this achievement, I used stealth build Ivan. I dismiss Ivan for repairing/modifying weapons/armor then recruit him back.
I didnt finished the game on "Lone Wolf" as yet, but will do that coming up, then for also go for the "Dynamic Duo"🏆 in the same run, will load the final and hire 1 more merc. BTW did you got the "Time Is Money" trophy 🏆? If yes whats your advised route ? Cause you need to finish it asap before 1/ May / 2001@@sirbowen4358
I think, this is way too much Grit and you're missing some good strength perks. You can't exceed 30 Grit anyway and both Full Body Contact and Vanguard easily max that _just by themselves_ . So, Calm under Fire will just be wasted mosted of the time. The Strength perks are much more important. Being able to attack without triggering interrupts is very helpful against other enemies with the hand-to-hand perk. Becoming inspired after a point blank attack allows you an additional attack per turn or to move more freely and it's pretty much guaranteed to trigger, because _you_ decide when to attack. I'd take Bulldozer over Battle Focus any day.
And then we haven't even talked about True Strike making your melee attack crit 100%.
Yeah, I'm actually working on a str build with lots of mobility.
Turn Biff into an uber melee merc. THAT will be hilarious!
Can you do one for marksman and one for heavy guns and/or assault ?
Ill see what I can do :)
For agile snipers the best perks are ;
Dexterity : Opportunistic Killer, Deadeye, Reactive Fire, Sharpshooter, Killzone
Agility : Fast Runner, Frog Leaping, Vantage Point, Total Concentration, Anatomical Precision
finished the game many times. I never used level 2 and 3 health. IMHO not worth it. Instead I focused on agility with the 2 free movement perks and strength perks.
One of the best AIM mercs that can be a real melee killing machine is Shadow. Give him “the thing”, the best melee weapon, and he can kill up to two enemies in one turn in close melee combat, and even having AP left to hide from enemy fire or go into cover.
'Cause lord knoows we need a guide, especially the newbies like me xD nicee
Working on Marksman build and then another even more broken melee one.
Is melee with interrupt trait the only way to make this work? I really don't want to pass on the teacher trait
Yeah the interupt is pretty important. You can skip martial arts but you will have problems against melee enemies
@@hexxatgamingthx! I noticed without the Melee expert perk unaimed torso attacks are having quite the Miss chance on regular enemy's with 85 dex right now I'm testing out different combinations for reaching builds that don't need 2 perks to shine. ATM it's stealth and learning . Maybe I give close distance a shot next.
What type of armor you use? Medium for the free move?
Yes. But you can also get the unique heavy armor from shaman in the refugee camp. Its heavy armor that allows free move.
Dont you need fast runner to get into combat? I have started a game with your exact build, and I struggle to get into melee range.
Im about to start my live stream. Im gonna use this build. Tune in
Nice build, but "hit and run" is still bugged? (allows you to hit more times than you should)
Hit and run does what it says, gives you free run after melee attack
latest patch fixed that.
Melee build could be a fun challenge, but it's totally pointless given how much easier it is to just use Snipers and Machine Guns to mow down waves of enemies before they even take a shot. Why go up close and risk damage. Best use for melee is as a defensive tactic against enemy rushers in case they get too close.
I noticed melee is OP when you're dealing with certain enemies that have this and reaction,. they can literally wreck you in two turns it's absurd honestly.
There's some major balancing that needs to be done on this game. Particularly the fact that armor is negated on melee attacks is imo stupid
Also regarding level scaling that happens, either through events or time based, breaks the game imo.
I've been taking a break from this game until these things get fixed someway or another
That's exactly how I noticed it too. Those butchers, especially the ones that retaliate every time, haha. Yeah the game isn't perfect, but I had a pretty damn good time so far.
@@hexxatgaming I also HAD a good time until i found these major issues that funnel you into a few of the most viable builds and certain enemies being substantially more dangerous than others it ruins the play through for me.
game is unbalanced some builds are just OP (especially good sniper and good malee), also some weapons, for example sniper guns (like dragunow,m24), granades and heavy automatic rifles (rpk, mg42) are much much stronger than automatic pistols (lke famas) and pistols which are for me just lame but still game is great, maby thay create DLC where thay add more balance:P
@@mrmax7348A lot has happened since, although more in the content department than balancing. I still find SMGs are not super useful from mid game on, but Anaconda pistols are awesome. Enemies running into Meltdown on overwatch with those have a bad day. They are also useful as a backup weapon.
im pretty sure IRL kevlar doesn't do shit against knives
nice video..but str build is better i think..and making a show case against zombies is not realistic..make a case against 5 enemies who hit you in arms, legs and groin and overwatch you every round..the interrupt attack does not come up so often..you need that overwatch cancel..it works for movement as well you need not make an melee attack : Full body contact, vanguard, hit and run, killing spree, sudden strike, breach and clear (ironclad is useless shock assault is useless, if you deathsquad or treated kevlar), true strike, , line breaker, frog leaping
Have you watched the melee showcase video?
th-cam.com/video/ror94Rxkt3Q/w-d-xo.html
Far away from best melee build - max grid is 30 no need for tier 3 health perks - opportunity killer is useless melee interruption can crit anyways - go with 100% crit - hit and run + more freemove // also the thing is useless take knife with plus dmg less ap and same dmg
Thanks for the input. Ill probably make a build with the 100% in the future
Fidel that freak should be banished from AIM, throwed in a jail and the guards siould lost the key !
Easy difficulty? as on Imposible you missing a lot
Mission impossible.
The IMP merc has obv no special perk. Therefore it will never be as good as some of the other options. Pointless to center your game around a merc that is stupid enough to accept 7k instead of a weekly pay, lol^^ Even Igor is better than the IMP merc, try to get as much grid as Igor good luck. Only thing IMP merc is good for is cheap 85 leadership in the beginning.
IMP merc can have hand to hand and martial arts (together). No other character in the game has those. Which makes IMP the best for melee.