Here are some class-specific tips to fully optimize your squad.

Vanguard – Get Intimidate Early On

The Vanguard is meant to rush down in combat while being able to regenerate health back bit by bit. But there will be times that they can be overwhelmed. Luckily, the Vanguard has the Shock Trooper and Warden skill tree branches that come with great kits to even the odds.

Intimidate will make your Vanguard yell, interrupting enemies and pushing them back out of cover as long as they’re within a certain radius of the Vanguard. It’s very useful to break enemies out of overwatch, as well as making them more vulnerable. The Warden tree comes with damage reduction, life leech abilities, and the Distraction Shot skill that lets your Vanguard be the centre of attention.

If you rather have a defensive Vanguard, the Paladin skill tree is the way to go. Rally, Stand Together, and Squad Regeneration are examples of buffs and abilities that can resurrect downed squad members in a pinch. There’s no harm in having both an offensive and defensive Vanguard; whichever you pick for a fight is dependant on what you need to do for a main or side mission.

Scout – Go For The Slayer Branch

The Scout is good for getting around enemies, flanking them, and then getting out of a jam using Cloak; this grants him/her the Hidden status effect, making them untargetable for the turn. The Slayer skill branch lets you use your Cloak more and get damage buffs from attacking enemies. This branch also gives you Escape Route; killing an enemy with a critical or an execution will give the Scout the Hidden status effect.

Having said that, you should invest a bit more skill points to the Recon branch, at least to unlock the Free Cloak and Sprint ability. The latter skill is a roadie run that’s worth 3 action points for the price of 1. Furthermore, this skill doesn’t break Cloak.

Snipers – Focus On Hunter & Stalker Branches

If you want to have the best Sniper around, make sure they have skills and passives that enable them to make multiple shots and “refund” their skills if they miss the first time. Action Points are a precious resource in Gears Tactics, and having a sniper that can gain multiple APs in a single turn is always a plus.

The Hunter branch has Chain Shot, Fast Fingers, and Ultimate Shot that can make your sniper act multiple times in a round, provided he or she finds a nice spot to shoot enemies at.

Support – Get Stim, Recover Patch, & Group Therapy

Healing mid-battle can mean a matter of life and death, especially if you’re fighting a seemingly unending horde. The Surgeon branch should at least be unlocked for one or two Supports in your squad.

This branch gives you access to Stim and Recovery Patch; the latter can heal a large amount of health over three turns. The Group Therapy ability (which acts like a Cura for a group) can heal your entire squad regardless of distance; you can opt to branch down to the Combat Medic branch after getting what you need from the Surgeon branch.

You can relegate another Support to have a little bit of the Paragon and Strategist branches. But like we said: Surgeon and Combat Medic first. Sustaining life and survivability in Gears Tactics is crucial, especially in harder difficulties.

Heavy – Focus On Skill Branches That Buff Up Anchor

The Heavy in Gears Tactics can gun down anything and anyone if he/she is parked in a good cover spot. The Heavy’s best passive is Anchor, where he/she gains a stack of 10 percent accuracy and 15 percent damage if he/she shoots from cover. If they move, they lose the stack and have to start over.

As such, it’s best to focus on the Artillery branch which grants you Reckless Shot and Heat Up. These two skills will buff your critical chance and damage for a single turn. Also, you will gain access to the Ultra Shot, which lets you unload your clip onto an enemy until it’s either dead or you run out of bullets. It’s perfect for taking down big enemies from a good distance.

If you want to play defensively and turtle, go for the Defender branch. Explosive Shots and Suppressing Fire will wreck a squad of Locust’s day, especially if you find a good vantage point for overwatching.

Our advice overall? Recruit at least two Heavies minimum; one with Artillery skills and the other with Defender skills.