This is the best MEC, in my opinion. I like to chop 5 Pathfinders. Around September they gain a permanent slot in my squad line up, supposing I was able to find enough scouts to dismember. If there is a shortage, I will settle for a lesser MEC, but I’ve never finished a campaign with fewer than 3 MSGT Pathfinders, and I can’t imagine ever doing so.
There are a lot of reasons to love Pathfinders. They have the most flexible extra shot ability, Hit & Run, which allows 3 actions a turn in most situations. They have good aim progression, and can boost it further at LCPL rank. They have a very friendly class tree that does not force you to pick between VPT and Absorption Fields. Even the weaker abilities in the tree work well, adding crit chance and crit damage to a class that likes to shoot first.
Advanced Fire Control
Sharpshooter
Ranger
Vital Point Targeting
Bring ‘Em On
Absorption Fields
Advanced Fire Control
While not as powerful as Opportunist, this ability will make your most powerful shooter far more reliable when on overwatch. And while overwatch shots are not as effective as directed shots, for several reasons, they still have value, especially when the shooter has 100+ aim and hits for 10+ damage. Advanced Fire Control also comes with +2 aim, which is nice.
Alternatives: Deadeye or Lone Wolf
Deadeye is tempting given the trouble that Heavy Floaters present in the late game. I grab Deadeye on my snipers and shoguns and that has worked well enough, though it sometimes feels insufficient.
Here is what I wrote about Lone Wolf in my Scout build:
Lone Wolf is tricky to use. It is one more thing to worry about when positioning your soldiers, which is already complicated enough. This ability encourages you to spread out your squad, which is often dangerous. Usually I am most in need of bonus aim when fighting numerous enemies, which means my guys are probably clustered together in a cloud of smoke.
Sharpshooter
This is the least significant ability in my Pathfinder build, but still very good. Additional crit chance is nice on a Pathfinder because Hit & Run encourages them to target exposed enemies, sometimes after they have been shredded and holo-targeted, but often when they are near to full health, which means that the extra damage of a crit will not be wasted. Sharpshooter also helps the Pathfinder hit enemies behind full cover, one of the most problematic scenarios in the game.
Alternatives: Damn Good Ground or Flush
Damn Good Ground is not great. Its okay if you plan to get the MEC armor with jump boots. I use the heavier MEC armor, because I like to cluster my squad together, in case I need to drop smoke or shadow up. Elevation already grants +20 aim, and so Damn Good Ground will often be superfluous.
Flush is a neat gadget ability that will help finish off wounded enemies or crack a tough enemy position. It is worth considering given that Sharpshooter is not essential.
Ranger
Ranger is very good. The Pathfinder has solid aim, and usually gets to shoot twice per turn. With that being the case, abilities that grant extra damage are very appealing.
Alternatives: Executioner or Repair Servos
Executioner is a good ability that conflicts with Hit & Run and Bring ‘Em On. Pathfinders like to shoot near the top of the line up because when they crit it will likely kill the enemy outright, and there are usually a limited number of exposed enemies that will trigger HnR. Shooting at wounded enemies is often a waste of the Pathfinder’s huge damage potential, and is better done by an ITZ shooter, if one is on the squad.
Repair Servos is good. It can heal a lot of damage which can prove useful on longer missions. The big problem with this ability is that the enemy will often deliver damage in massive flurries, and Repair Servos won’t help when your MEC is KO’d. If you are planning to bring plenty of medikits and restorative mists on longer missions, which you should, this ability is unnecessary.
Vital Point Targeting
This is an awesome perk on all shooters, and the Pathfinder is no exception.
Alternatives: Damage Control or Aggression
Damage Control is a solid defensive ability that costs too much at this rank. It does have a lot of value. When paired with Absorption Fields at MSGT rank, it will transform the Pathfinder into a very tough tank that can shrug off shots from all but the nastiest enemies.
Aggression offers similar value to VPT. It has great synergy with BEO at the next rank up. Against exposed non-hardened enemies, such as muton elites and heavy floaters, Aggression is better than VPT, as it will raise crit chance near to 100%. In other circumstances, such as overwatch shots, targeting hardened enemies, or those in cover, I prefer the lower but more consistent increase in damage provided by VPT.
Bring ‘Em On
This ability will enable some truly nasty crits, with damage in the thirties. Often the additional damage will be meaningless, but not always. Late game enemies have a lot of HP. BEO solidifies the Pathfinder’s role as the team slugger.
Alternatives: Squadsight or Lock N’ Load
Squadsight can be extremely useful against overwatching cyberdiscs, mechtoids, and sectopods. It is also helpful in dealing with the numerous frustrating line of sight issues that are prevalent in Long War. On the other hand, once you are accustomed to dealing with these problems, and learn how to move your soldiers so they don’t pull overwatch fire, squadsight loses valuable. Squadsight should also be considered somewhat of a defensive perk, as it allows soldiers to position themselves well behind the front lines.
Lock N’ Load is ok. It would be very good if it didn’t conflict with Hit & Run, but it does. When your Pathfinder uses Lock N’ Load, Hit & Run will no longer proc. This is quite annoying as otherwise it would allow your Pathfinder to top off his clip every round, and still shoot twice. As it currently works, the biggest advantage of LnL is the extra bullet. I’ll pass.
Absorption Fields
This ability is fantastic. I select it on all of my MECs, except the Jaeger. Absorption Fields is the best defensive ability in the game, and MECs are often required to tank for the squad. The harder they hit, the more it helps. Absorption Fields is very likely to save one or two MECs each campaign.
Alternatives: Lightning Reflexes or Rapid Fire
It is way too late in the campaign to select Lightning Reflexes. By this point, I will have dense smoke, the shadow device, disabling shot with high aim, battlescanners, and all the standard tricks and techniques to avoid overwatch fire. If all of that fails, my soldiers will have high HP and medikits. Lightning Reflexes is a bad choice here.
Rapid Fire will allow the Pathfinder to burn through more ammo, and more enemies, on the first turn of an encounter. On the next turn, the Pathfinder will need to reload. This ability is somewhat problematic for a Pathfinder, as it will cause them to bump up against ammo limitations. On the other hand, when there are no exposed enemies, Rapid Fire will enable the Pathfinder to keep shooting twice. This is a strong ability, that is not as strong as Absorption Fields.